Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques
AMT
Articles | Volume 18, issue 5
Articles | Volume 18, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1115-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-1115-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 18, issue 5
Research article
 | 
05 Mar 2025
Research article |  | 05 Mar 2025

Factors limiting contrail detection in satellite imagery

Oliver G. A. Driver, Marc E. J. Stettler, and Edward Gryspeerdt

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Short summary
Contrails (clouds caused by planes) play a large role in the climate warming caused by aviation. Satellites are a good tool to validate modelled impact estimates. Many contrails are either too narrow or too disperse to detect. This work shows that only around half of contrails are observable but that the most climatically important are easier to detect. It supports the use of satellites for contrail observation but highlights the need for observability considerations for specific applications.
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