Numerical modeling of the contrail-to-cirrus transition considering the synoptic evolution and the formation of contrail clusters in areas of high air traffic

• Applicant: Dr. Simon Unterstraßer
• Subject Area: Atmospheric Science
• Term: from 2010 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 170889006

Aged contrails (also termed contrail-cirrus) can be hardly discriminated from natural cirrus which makes observations by in-situ methods and remote sensing very difficult or even impossible.Thus, cloud-resolving modeling is an appropriate tool to study the evolution of contrail-cirrus in detail and determine their geometric, optical and microphysical properties.This project aims at understanding the formation of contrail-clusters and their interaction with natural cirrus.The main objectives of this proposal can be summarized by the following 5 items:O1: Statistically analyze the temporal evolution of ice supersaturationO2: Investigate the competition of contrail-clusters and natural cirrusO3: Quantify the aircraft impact on contrail-cirrus propertiesO4: Assess the importance of aggregationO5: Provide a benchmark model for contrail parameterizations in global climate model, simplified analytical or plume models

• DFG Programme: Research Grants