Potential impact of contrails on solar energy gain

[摘要] The effect of contrails onglobal short-wave radiation (sum of direct and downward diffuse solarradiation) and on solar energy gain was investigated. The study was performedduring days with high contrail persistence and focused on situations wherethe contrails were obstructing the sun. Measurements of cloudiness using afish-eye camera, diffuse and direct short-wave measurements and measurementsof the short circuit current of three different types of photovoltaic (PV)modules were performed at the Kanzelhöhe Observatory (1540 m a.s.l.)with a time resolution of 1 min over a period of 1 year. The resultsshow that contrails moving between sun and observer/sensor may reduce theglobal radiation by up to 72%. An analysis of contrail persistence andthe influence of contrails on global irradiance and solar energy gain ispresented. The losses in solar energy gain that were recorded may be criticalunder specific circumstances.

[学科分类] 几何与拓扑