Strategic Air Command Contrail Formation Study.
Abstract
To investigate trends in contrail formation, military aircraft reports of contrail occurrence and non occurrence were collected from 1 May 1990 to 30 April 1991. Over 4,800 contrail reports were collected and analyzed. Below 40,000 feet, 64% were occurrences. The data confirms the dependence of contrail formation on ambient temperature and moisture. Results suggest previous formation theory is limited in scope and requires review. Data indicated the presence of warm contrails. Results also suggest the potential for an improved forecast capability by incorporating synoptic-scale vertical motion into the contrail forecast algorithm. Between -46 C and -49 C, the verification rate for occurrences using current contrail forecast techniques was 21 percent. However, analysis indicates contrails formed in this temperature range 69 percent of the time when synoptic-scale upward motion was present. This study focuses on contrail formation below 40,000 feet; additional study is required to understand formation and optical properties of contrails above 40,000 feet.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA240467
Entities
People
- Jeffrey L. Peters