Smokes from the burning of aviation fuel and their self‐lofting by solar heating

The emission factors and optical properties of smokes produced by the burning of aviation fuel were determined from airborne measurements. These rather large fires (30 m in diameter and containing as much as 4.5×10 4 L of fuel) produced dark columns of smoke. On several occasions the smoke was observed to continue to rise slowly after its initial stabilization at a temperature inversion. This rise was evidently due to the absorption of solar radiation by the smoke.