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GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 25, NO. 8, PAGES 1165–1168, 1998

Contrail Properties Derived from High-Resolution Polarization Lidar Studies During SUCCESS

Kenneth Sassen

Department of Meteorology, University of Utah


Ching-yu Hsueh

Department of Meteorology, University of Utah


Abstract

During the April 1996 SUCCESS field campaign, our ground-based polarization lidar studied a variety of contrails ranging from a new NASA DC-8 contrail to persisting contrails from commercial jet aircraft that had spread into an almost invisible cirrostratus sheet. What distinguishes these contrails from natural cirrus is their tendency to remain thin (∼50-500 m), and to generate strong laser backscattering and depolarization, often along with solar coronas, even an hour or more after formation. Lidar depolarization ratios in persisting contrails ranged from ∼0.3-0.7. Contrail-cirrus clouds composed of high numbers of small (20-30 µm) particles would satisfy these findings, which has implications for comprehending their radiative and climatic effects.

Received 25 June 1997; accepted 20 November 1997.

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Citation: Sassen, K., and C. Hsueh (1998), Contrail Properties Derived from High-Resolution Polarization Lidar Studies During SUCCESS, Geophys. Res. Lett., 25(8), 1165–1168.