Condensation trails in the context of "Clouds"

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⭐ Core Definition: Condensation trails

Contrails (/ˈkɒntreɪlz/; short for "condensation trails") or vapour trails are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several kilometres/miles above the Earth's surface. They are composed primarily of water, in the form of ice crystals. The combination of water vapor in aircraft engine exhaust and the low ambient temperatures at high altitudes cause the trails' formation.

Impurities in the engine exhaust from the fuel, including soot and sulfur compounds (0.05% by weight in jet fuel) provide some of the particles that serve as cloud condensation nuclei for water droplet growth in the exhaust. If water droplets form, they can freeze to form ice particles that compose a contrail. Their formation can also be triggered by changes in air pressure in wingtip vortices, or in the air over the entire wing surface. Contrails, and other clouds caused directly by human activity, are called homogenitus.

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Condensation trails in the context of Environmental effects of aviation

Aircraft engines produce gases, noise, and particulates from fossil fuel combustion, raising environmental concerns over both global impacts and their effects on local air quality.Jet airliners contribute to climate change by emitting carbon dioxide (CO2), the best understood greenhouse gas, and, with less scientific understanding, nitrogen oxides, contrails and particulates.Their radiative forcing is estimated at 1.3–1.4 that of CO2 alone, excluding induced cirrus cloud which remains poorly understood scientifically.In 2018, global commercial operations generated 2.4% of all CO2 emissions.

Jet airliners became about 70% more fuel efficient between 1967 and 2007, and CO2 emissions per revenue ton-kilometer (RTK) in 2018 were 47% of those in 1990. In 2018, CO2 emissions averaged 88 grams of CO2 per revenue passenger per km.While the aviation industry is more fuel efficient, overall emissions have risen as the volume of air travel has increased. By 2020, aviation emissions were 70% higher than in 2005 and they could grow by 300% by 2050.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Environmental effects of aviation
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
Clouds → Aircraft → Air pressure → Earth → Water → Ice crystal → Water vapor → Chemical impurity → Soot → Sulfur → Cloud condensation nuclei → Water droplet → Wingtip vortices →