TY  - VIDEO
AU  - Bernd Kärcher
TI  - On contrail cirrus lifetimes
JO  - Brahmal Vasudevan Institute for Sustainable Aviation Seminar Series
Y1  - 2025
DA  - 2025/11/18
PB  - Cassyni
UR  - https://doi.org/10.52843/cassyni.bpht9x
Y2  - 2026/04/19
AB  - This talk presents a process-based investigation of lifetime statistics of persistent contrails and contrail cirrus clouds based on an idealized dynamical microphysical model. Cloud lifetimes are estimated by tracking the microphysical evolution of a cirrus layer that evolves in a large-scale ice-supersaturated area driven by a prescribed dynamical forcing. Special emphasis is given to the crucial role of internal high frequency gravity waves in affecting cirrus lifecycles. Simulated lifetime statistics are compared with satellite observations and categorized into three distinct evolutionary regimes. A parallel is drawn to cold cirrus at the tropical tropopause, for which unequivocal observational evidence is available, and implications for future contrail research are discussed.
DO  - 10.52843/cassyni.bpht9x
ER  -