Here's what we know about the climate cost of white trails aircraft leave in the sky

Contrails, short for condensation trails, are the white streaks often seen in the sky behind aircraft. The International Cloud Atlas, which classifies clouds, has a category just for them: cirrus ...
Nature

Cutting aircraft soot emissions is not enough to curb contrail clouds

The contrail clouds formed by jet engines contribute to global warming. In-flight measurements of the particles emitted and contrails produced by a passenger jet show that contrails are formed through ...
C&EN

Contrails form even when airplanes produce less soot

From the top of a plane wing, another airplane is seen flying above clouds in a blue sky, leaving a contrail in its wake. In spring 2023, scientists aboard a research aircraft chased an Airbus A321neo ...
EurekAlert!

UAlbany atmospheric scientist contributes to international study on contrail formation

ALBANY, N.Y. (April 14, 2026) — Fangqun Yu, a senior research faculty member at the University at Albany’s Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, has been studying the microphysics of contrail ...
The Conversation

Here’s what we know about the climate cost of white trails aircraft leave in the sky

Contrails, short for condensation trails, are the white streaks often seen in the sky behind aircraft. The international cloud atlas, which classifies clouds, has a category just for them: cirrus ...