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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 ...
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 ...
Cloud albedo strongly influences the Earth's energy budget, accounting for approximately half of Earth's albedo. [1] [2] Cloud albedo is influenced by the conditions of cloud formation and variations in cloud albedo depend on the total mass of water, the size and shape of the droplets or particles and their distribution in space. [3] Thick ...
Details of how clouds interact with shortwave and longwave radiation at different atmospheric heights [17]. Clouds have two major effects on the Earth's energy budget: they reflect shortwave radiation from sunlight back to space due to their high albedo, but the water vapor contained inside them also absorbs and re-emits the longwave radiation sent out by the Earth's surface as it is heated by ...
This is an accepted version of this page This is the latest accepted revision, reviewed on 18 December 2024. Visible mass of liquid droplets or frozen crystals suspended in the atmosphere For other uses, see Cloud (disambiguation). Cloudscape over Borneo, taken by the International Space Station Part of a series on Weather Temperate and polar seasons Winter Spring Summer Autumn Tropical ...
Cloud albedo has substantial influence over atmospheric temperatures. Different types of clouds exhibit different reflectivity, theoretically ranging in albedo from a minimum of near 0 to a maximum approaching 0.8. "On any given day, about half of Earth is covered by clouds, which reflect more sunlight than land and water.
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
Clouds have a higher albedo than the underlying ocean, which causes more incoming solar radiation to be reflected back to space. Since the tops of tropical systems are much cooler than the surface of the Earth, the presence of high convective clouds cools the climate system. The most recognizable cloud system in the tropics is the hurricane. In ...