13 May 2026 | ZEROGeoengineering.com | Authors of the Environmental Science & Technology report below, “Properties and Processing of Aviation Exhaust Aerosol at Cruise Altitude Observed from the IAGOS-CARIBIC Flying Laboratory,” discuss aerosol emissions from aircraft.  Report focus is on exhaust pollutant characteristics, plume expansion, and aviation’s effects on clouds on climate. According to the paper, “emissions include carbon dioxide (CO2), reactive nitrogen oxides (NOx), water vapor, carbonaceous and sulfate aerosols, and a mixture of gaseous hydrocarbon (HC) compounds.”

Procedures set by the United Nations (UN) International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) are cited and recognized as global standards. 

Mahnke C, Gomes R, Bundke U, Berg M, Ziereis H, Sharma M, Righi M, Hendricks J, Zahn A, Wahner A, Petzold A. Properties and Processing of Aviation Exhaust Aerosol at Cruise Altitude Observed from the IAGOS-CARIBIC Flying Laboratory. Environ Sci Technol. 2024 Apr 23;58(16):6945-6953. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c09728. Epub 2024 Apr 8. PMID: 38588448; PMCID: PMC11044579.

“Research aircraft studies conducted at cruising altitude have revealed that the growth of volatile particles
continues within the jet regime for up to 10 s after the plume is released.”

 2.4 Plume Detection and Analysis. Aircraft plumes were probed randomly during the IAGOS-CARIBIC flights.

One important factor for the climate impact of aviation is the presence of large accumulation mode particles, which by themselves have a stronger radiative impact compared to smaller aerosol particles but can also act as efficient condensation nuclei and therefore enhance the formation of contrail cirrus clouds.

Figure 3. Simulated NOy mixing ratio as a function of the plume age resulting from plume dispersion modeling.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) engine emission data bank contains exhaust information like particle EI [emission indices].

Funding
Part of this study is funded by the ACACIA project (EU Grant Agreement Number 875036) and the Eco2Fly project (DLR aviation research program). The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is acknowledged for financing the instrument operation and data analysis as part of the joint project IAGOS-Dunder grants 01LK1301A and 01LK1301C.

Link To Properties and Processing of Aviation Exhaust Aerosol at Cruise Altitude Observed from the IAGOS-CARIBIC Flying Laboratory

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