Depending on the position of the sun, time of day and properties, the thin, high cirrus clouds in the Arctic have a predominantly warming effect. So far, however, there have hardly been any direct cirrus measurements at high latitudes and climate models do not take these into account sufficiently. The German research aircraft HALO will fly in July 2021Towards Northern Europe and the Arctic. The aim is to better understand the contribution of the cirrus clouds to the particularly strong warming of this region. In addition, the 70-strong research team is looking at the effects of air traffic in heavily flown Central Europe. The researchers are investigating the time of day at which the contrail cirrus warms as little as possible and whether they can be avoided in certain weather situations. This could be of enormous value for future climate-friendly flight planning. Nine atmospheric research institutes and universities are on the missionCIRRUS-HL(CIRRUS in High Latitudes) involved. The starting point is the Oberpfaffenhofen site of the German Aerospace Center (DLR).
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