资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response

By Joshua Howgego

YOU won’t find this species in your average cloud-spotter’s guide. These fluffy strings might look like icy contrails left by aircraft, but they are actually created by ships plying the ocean.

Clouds are collections of tiny water droplets, which need a speck of something solid to condense around. That can be anything from bacteria to salt particles.

Ships throw out sooty particles as they burn fuel. These polluting particles seem to seed clouds with a greater density of smaller droplets than …

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