Operation Blue Skies, which also involves the UK government, will subtly reroute flights to test contrail avoidance.
Google and the British government are collaborating on a project to test whether planes can avoid creating contrails. The project, called Operation Blue Skies, will conduct the test over Shanwick airspace, which is over the northeast Atlantic Ocean.
Contrails are the long white trails left in the sky by jet engines. Most commonly created in cold, humid air, they form when water vapor condenses and freezes around airplane exhaust. Unfortunately for the climate, they can trap radiant heat from the Earth, warming the atmosphere. Researchers estimate that they contribute to around a third of aviation’s total climate impact. (Condensation trails, whose effects have been measured by scientists, should not be confused with mythical chemtrails, whose “effects” were revealed by your conspiracy-obsessed uncle on Facebook.)
Operation Blue Skies will last 30 months and will make small flight path adjustments to a limited number of flights while keeping them within the limits of normal operations. Testing will take place over the next two winters. Air traffic controllers will use the forecasts to identify atmospheric regions where vertical adjustments of up to 2,000 feet could help reduce contrail formation.
Of the 10,000 flights expected to pass through the region during each year’s trial period, only about one to five percent will be rerouted. Previous research and smaller-scale trials suggest that AI forecasts can identify atmospheric areas where flights are most likely to create warming trails.
Google will provide AI-powered forecast models to identify these regions and use satellite imagery and machine learning to help measure the results. The company says it is participating on a voluntary basis, contributing £1.4 million ($1.9 million). The associated press reports that the British government will provide more than half of the project’s £5 million ($6.8 million) budget. Meanwhile, NATS, the UK air navigation provider, will take care of the operational side. Contrails.org, the Met Office, Imperial College London and the University of Cambridge are also involved.
