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The Impact of Ship Emission Controls Recorded by Cloud Properties
Author(s) -
Gryspeerdt Edward,
Smith Tristan W. P.,
O'Keeffe Eoin,
Christensen Matthew W.,
Goldsworth Fraser W.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2019gl084700
Subject(s) - aerosol , cloud computing , environmental science , sulfate aerosol , meteorology , forcing (mathematics) , sulfate , pollution , atmospheric sciences , work (physics) , climatology , computer science , geology , geography , engineering , chemistry , mechanical engineering , ecology , organic chemistry , biology , operating system
The impact of aerosols on cloud properties is one of the leading uncertainties in the human forcing of the climate. Ships are large, isolated sources of aerosol creating linear cloud formations known as shiptracks. These are an ideal opportunity to identify and measure aerosol‐cloud interactions. This work uses over 17,000 shiptracks during the implementation of fuel sulfur content regulations to demonstrate the central role of sulfate aerosol in ship exhaust for modifying clouds. By connecting individual shiptracks to transponder data, it is shown that almost half of shiptracks are likely undetected, masking a significant contribution to the climate impact of shipping. A pathway to retrieving ship sulfate emissions is demonstrated, showing how cloud observations could be used to monitor air pollution.