April 9, 2023 - Contrails Crisscross the Iberian Peninsula

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Long streaks of cloud crisscrossed the skies over the Iberian Peninsula
on April 7, 2023. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
(MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of
the complex pattern on that same day.

The streaks are a type of cirrus cloud known as a “contrail”. Cirrus
clouds typically form in the sky when humidity is high, but contrails
form in the wake of passing aircraft due to particles and water vapor
contained in their exhaust. The temperature and humidity of the air
affects how long contrails last. When air is dry, contrails last just
seconds or minutes. But when the air is humid, contrails can be
long-lived. Young, freshly formed contrails appear like neat line, with
sharp and distinct sides. As contrails age, they spread outward until
they become difficult to distinguish from naturally occurring cirrus
clouds.

The complex set of contrails captured in this image are a mix of both
young and older contrails that have formed in the wake of many
different aircraft. Near the right side of the image, a few thin lines
stretch from the northeast to the southwest, marking the youngest
contrails. The majority, however, are older and appear as thick gray
lines over the North Atlantic and passing over the coast of Spain. A
group of fuzzy cloud-like areas located inland are likely older
contrails, while broad swaths of white over the North Atlantic are
banks of clouds.

Image Facts
Satellite: Terra
Date Acquired: 4/7/2023
Resolutions: 1km (274.3 KB), 500m (670.1 KB), 250m (455.6
KB)
Bands Used: 1,4,3
Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2023-04-09

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