Con or Protrails?

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contrails.jpgIn my METEO 003H class, I learned about all kinds of meteorological phenomenon, but what I remember the most were contrails.  When jets travel at high altitudes, the engines put a lot of heat as well as water vapor into the atmosphere.  The jet leaves behind very turbulent air which mixes the hot moist air with the cold surrounding air of the atmosphere.  The water vapor quickly forms into ice crystals which form the contrails or streaks we see in the skies.

Now, contrails may soon become endangered as researchers are developing ways to erase these streaks from the sky.  One idea is to use a microwave emitter attached behind an airplane to remotely heat the condensation nuclei thus preventing the formation of contrails.

However, in my METEO 003H class, I learned that while contrails do impact the climate, contrails do so by preventing some of the sun's radiation from ever reaching the ground causing the Earth's climate to be cooler than it normally would be.  If we take away the contrails, wouldn't the Earth get warmer and isn't that what we are trying to fight?   This just serves as a reminder that the world we live in is fragile and changing one thing will have ramifications on the whole planet.  In other words, look before you walk.

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