Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
the cloud IR emissivity, with values between 0 and 1, with a global average around 0.7; the effective cloud amount, the cloud amount weighted by the cloud IR emissivity, with a global average of 0.5; the cloud (visible) optical depth varies within a range of 4 and 10. the cloud water path for the liquid and solid (ice) phases of the cloud particles
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. [1] Water or various other chemicals may compose the droplets and crystals.
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.
Consequently, without the sun's heat, air cools, causing water droplets (or clouds) to revert to invisible vapor. "Along with the sudden darkness came a change in the clouds' color," Rao wrote of ...
Higher liquid water and ice content in a cloud increases its albedo, which is the dominant factor in determining the cloud's reflectivity. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] The change in albedo is greater for clouds with less water content to start with and larger clouds begin to receive diminishing returns with increased content.
Because Earth's environment is relatively close to water's triple point, water exists on Earth as a solid, a liquid, and a gas. [22] It forms precipitation in the form of rain and aerosols in the form of fog. Clouds consist of suspended droplets of water and ice, its solid state.
Cumulus clouds are clouds that have flat bases and are often described as puffy, cotton-like, or fluffy in appearance. Their name derives from the Latin cumulus, meaning "heap" or "pile". [1] Cumulus clouds are low-level clouds, generally less than 2,000 m (6,600 ft) in altitude unless they are the more vertical cumulus congestus form. Cumulus ...
Hurricanes are mixed-phase clouds, meaning that liquid and solid water (ice) are both present in the cloud. Typically, liquid water dominates at altitudes lower than the freezing level and solid water at altitudes where the temperature is colder than -40 °C. Between 0 °C and -40 °C water can exists in both phases simultaneously.