Fractal characteristics of ice-supersaturated regions in the tropopause region of the northern midlatitudes

Schuh, Helena Zoe; Reutter, Philipp; Niebler, Stefan; Spichtinger, Peter

doi:10.5194/acp-26-11235-2026

Articles | Volume 26, issue 15

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-11235-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Special issue:

The tropopause region in a changing atmosphere (TPChange)...

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-11235-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 26, issue 15

Research article

|

12 Aug 2026

Research article |

| 12 Aug 2026

Fractal characteristics of ice-supersaturated regions in the tropopause region of the northern midlatitudes

Helena Zoe Schuh, Philipp Reutter, Stefan Niebler, and Peter Spichtinger

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-11235-2026-supplement

Data sets

Fractal Characteristics of Ice-Supersaturated Regions in the Tropopause Region of the northern midlatitudes Helena Zoe Schuh https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21158240

The ERA5 global reanalysis (https://apps.ecmwf.int/data-catalogues/era5/?class=ea) H. Hersbach et al. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.3803

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Short summary

We studied ice-supersaturated regions in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere where high humidity can lead to cloud and contrail formation. Using data from 2010 to 2020, we found these regions to have fractal characteristics by applying an area-perimeter method. The fractal dimension follows a seasonal cycle. Our results can help evaluate climate models and have possible implications on contrail mitigation.