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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
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 ...
When there is mechanical lift to saturation, cloud base begins at the lifted condensation level (LCL); absent forcing, cloud base begins at the convective condensation level (CCL) where heating from below causes spontaneous buoyant lifting to the point of condensation when the convective temperature is reached.
On Earth, clouds are formed as a result of saturation of the air when it is cooled to its dew point, or when it gains sufficient moisture (usually in the form of water vapor) from an adjacent source to raise the dew point to the ambient temperature. Clouds are seen in the Earth's homosphere, which includes the troposphere, stratosphere, and ...
Anvil shaped thundercloud in the mature stage over Swifts Creek, Victoria, Australia. There are two primary forms of atmospheric instability. [2] Under convective instability, thermal mixing through convection in the form of rising warm air leads to the development of clouds and possibly precipitation or convective storms.
Also actiniform. Describing a collection of low-lying, radially structured clouds with distinct shapes (resembling leaves or wheels in satellite imagery), and typically organized in extensive mesoscale fields over marine environments. They are closely related to and sometimes considered a variant of stratocumulus clouds. actinometer A scientific instrument used to measure the heating power of ...
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.
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 ...