Contrails Map

(map.contrails.org)

34 points | by schaum 3 hours ago

4 comments

  • zeristor 2 hours ago
    Amazing visualisation, an excellent tool.

    Are there other sites that can suggest how much of an issue it is, and how much flight plan tweaking could improve this.

    Remember kids a 1° C rise in temperature can mean 7% more water vapour in the air, and with water vapour being a greenhouse gas itself this can cause heating and holding yet more water.

  • Sieyk 1 hour ago
    I was expecting this to be a gag about chemtrails. I am glad I was wrong.
    • msuniverse2026 46 minutes ago
      [flagged]
      • rkomorn 40 minutes ago
        > I am just so embarrassed on behalf of people who still think this doesn't exist and is all some conspiracy without any basis.

        Downvoted for this, at the very least, and also downvoted for the fact you think you're entitled to an explanation even with your tone.

      • jibal 34 minutes ago
        > I am just so embarrassed on behalf of people who still think this doesn't exist and is all some conspiracy without any basis.

        There's plenty of basis for thinking it's uninformed or intellectually dishonest conspiracy mongering.

        And please don't rant at HN.

  • extropy 1 hour ago
    I'm not following the logic why contrails cause net warming.

    Why nuclear blasts - that also introduce lots of particles in atmosphere cause a cooling effect - "nuclear winter"?

    • maltelau 50 minutes ago
      Water vapour absorbs the thermal radiation (heat trying to escape earth) better than it absorbs sunlight (heat trying to enter earth). Therefore, the more water vapour in the atmosphere, the stronger the greenhouse effect.

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electromagnetic_absorption_by_...

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_effect

    • rottencupcakes 47 minutes ago
      They don’t cause net warming, it’s transient. If we stopped flying tomorrow it would go away quickly. But we keep flying.

      But even with that the amount of warming this continuous effect creates is quite small and negligible compared to greenhouse gas warming and isn’t really worth talking about.

      • SequoiaHope 14 minutes ago
        I think this link hit HN in part due to the new Simon Clark video on contrails which mentioned it. Simon discusses the claim that contrails can be avoided for a small fuel penalty, reducing the overall effect on climate change a given flight would have. Apparently some airlines are already exploring this and Google includes contrail impact estimates on their flight search. So maybe it is worth talking about.

        https://youtu.be/QoOVqQ5sa08

    • ekunazanu 50 minutes ago
      The difference is that water vapour is a greenhouse gas. IIRC the net warming effect of clouds is a function of altitude.
      • ejago53 43 minutes ago
        Yes, also a mushroom cloud from a nuclear blast blocks light from passing through which reduces heating on the ground whereas contrails are thin which lets light through but still retains heat below them.
  • dr_dshiv 1 hour ago
    Would be great for shiptracks, too— which used to mitigate 1/3 of the warming impact of maritime shipping — until the 2022 clean fuel standards were implemented.