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Cloud cover values only vary by 3% from year-to-year averages, whereas the local, day-to-day variability in cloud amounts typically rises to 30% over the globe. Land is generally covered by 10-15% less cloud than the oceans, because the seas are covered with water, allowing for more evaporation .
Climate change is expected to impact cloud formation patterns, potentially leading to feedback loops. Warmer temperatures can increase the rate of evaporation, leading to more water vapor in the atmosphere, which could result in more clouds. This increase in cloud cover could have a cooling effect due to increased albedo.
Cloud fraction is the portion of each pixel that is covered by clouds. Colors range from blue (no clouds) to white (totally cloudy). [106] (click for more detail) Although the local distribution of clouds can be significantly influenced by topography, the global prevalence of cloud cover in the troposphere tends to vary more by latitude.
Under dry, cloud-free conditions, water vapor in atmosphere contributes 67% of the greenhouse effect on Earth. When there is enough moisture to form typical cloud cover, the greenhouse effect from "free" water vapor goes down to 50%, but water vapor which is now inside the clouds amounts to 25%, and the net greenhouse effect is at 75%. [21]
Cloud albedo is a measure of the albedo or reflectivity of a cloud. Clouds regulate the amount of solar radiation absorbed by a planet and its solar surface irradiance. Generally, increased cloud cover correlates to a higher albedo and a lower absorption of solar energy.
Tree ferns in a cloud forest on Mount Kinabalu, Borneo Stratus silvagenitus clouds in Uva Province, Sri Lanka. A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud cover, usually at the canopy level, formally ...
Along with wind direction, cloud cover is one of the oldest atmospheric conditions to be coded on a station model. [ 7 ] [ 8 ] The circle in the middle of the station model represents cloud cover. In the United Kingdom , when the observation is taken from an automated weather observation site, the shape is a triangle. [ 10 ]
These meteorological-satellite service, however, see more than clouds and cloud systems. Observation is typically made via different 'channels' of the electromagnetic spectrum, in particular, the visible and infrared portions. Some of these channels include: [9] [10] Visible and Near Infrared: 0.6–1.6 μm – for recording cloud cover during ...