Contrails Map

(map.contrails.org)

34 points | by schaum 2 hours ago

4 comments

  • Sieyk 1 hour ago
    I was expecting this to be a gag about chemtrails. I am glad I was wrong.
    • msuniverse2026 34 minutes ago
      Do you think chemtrails aren't real? Do you think there aren't hundreds of patents on weather modification using atmospheric aerosol injection and radio waves? [1]

      Let me ask you and maybe the wider HN crowd, if you wanted to affect the day-to-day weather what methods would you use? If you wanted to heat select portions of the atmosphere how would you do that? If you wanted to nucleate ice crystals to cause insanely large hail how would you do it? If you wanted to conduct weather warfare against another nation state by causing drought or excessive rainfall how would you do it? If you wanted to intensify a storm or disrupt the eyewall of a hurricane how would you accomplish it? If you wanted to punish a populace or make them stay home on election day what known weather modification methods are at your disposal?

      I am just so embarrassed on behalf of people who still think this doesn't exist and is all some conspiracy without any basis. Hey guess what, they do inject aluminium, barium and strontium into exhaust streams. They do aim radar at doped sections of the sky to direct and lift air columns. They do blast microwaves at clouds. They have admittedly attacked nations with altered weather systems like in Operation Popeye. You cannot look at any strange weather system and say with certainty that it isn't the result of tampering because of these clandestine activities and technologies. Forgive us for not wanting to breathe in strontium micro-particulates or have aluminium fall into our soil because you find it a little embarrassing that the contrails aren't always just water vapor and don't seem to disintegrate for some reason any more.

      [1]https://www.thesiriusreport.com/technology/list-us-patents-r... [2]http://globalskywatch.com/chemtrails/ubbthreads.php?ubb=show...

      Have the decency to reply if you downvote.

      • rkomorn 28 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 23 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.

  • 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.

  • extropy 59 minutes 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 38 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 35 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 2 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 38 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 31 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.