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The altitude, form, and thickness of the clouds are the main factors that affect the local heating or cooling of the Earth and the atmosphere. Clouds that form above the troposphere are too scarce and too thin to have any influence on climate change. Clouds are the main uncertainty in climate sensitivity. [2]
Cloud physics is the study of the physical processes that lead to the formation, growth and precipitation of atmospheric clouds. These aerosols are found in the troposphere , stratosphere , and mesosphere , which collectively make up the greatest part of the homosphere .
Cloud chart showing major tropospheric cloud types identified by standard two-letter abbreviations and grouped by altitude and form. See table below for full names and classification. The table that follows is very broad in scope much like the cloud genera template near the bottom of the article and upon which this table is partly based.
Clouds form when the dew point temperature of water is reached in the presence of condensation nuclei in the troposphere. The atmosphere is a dynamic system, and the local conditions of turbulence, uplift, and other parameters give rise to many types of clouds. Various types of cloud occur frequently enough to have been categorized.
The interaction between cloud formation and climate change is an aspect of atmospheric science. Clouds have a dual role [6] in the Earth's climate system: they can cool the Earth's surface by reflecting incoming solar radiation (albedo effect) and warm it by trapping outgoing infrared radiation (greenhouse effect). The overall impact of clouds ...
It is used in atmospheric sciences and meteorology to determine the humidity at which a cloud is formed. Köhler theory combines the Kelvin effect, which describes the change in vapor pressure due to a curved surface, with Raoult's Law, which relates the vapor pressure to the solute concentration.
Cirrus cloud formation may be effected by organic aerosols (particles produced by plants) acting as additional nucleation points for ice crystal formation. [26] [27] However, research suggests that cirrus clouds more commonly form on mineral dust or metallic particles rather than on organic ones. [18]
Atmospheric thermodynamics is the study of heat-to-work transformations (and their reverse) that take place in the Earth's atmosphere and manifest as weather or climate. . Atmospheric thermodynamics use the laws of classical thermodynamics, to describe and explain such phenomena as the properties of moist air, the formation of clouds, atmospheric convection, boundary layer meteorology, and ...