clouds

Question 1

what roles do clouds have on global energy balance

Answer 1

• reflection of solar radiation back to the space
• absorbs radiation and sent back to ground
• energy escapes from ground (evaporation) and energy is released during condensation from clouds at LCL

Question 2

fall speed of the rain droplets is proportional to the ____________

Answer 2

radius squared

s = r^2

Question 3

drops usually have to be larger than _______ to fall our as rain or drizzle

Answer 3

100 micrometer

Question 4

how can ceilometer be used to find cloud base height

Answer 4

shine light and see how long it takes to be reflected back

Question 5

describe stratus (St)

Answer 5

• fairly uniform base
• low, thick
• invisible sun if sun is shining over clouds. no halo

Question 6

describe Stratocumulus (Sc)

Answer 6

• low, lumpy clouds
• light to dark grey colour
• wide

Question 7

describe cumulus (Cu)

Answer 7

• detached, puffy clouds

- roughly same vertical extent as width

Question 8

describe altocumulus (Ac)

Answer 8

• patch or sheet of small puffy clouds
• quite close to one another
• smaller size then cumulus
• widths are 1-3 fingers

Question 9

describe altostratus (As)

Answer 9

• grey
• uniform sheet of cloud
• sun maybe dimly visible through cloud

Question 10

describe nimbostratus (Ns)

Answer 10

• stratus with rainfall
• sun not visible through cloud
• light or moderate precipitation
• can be middle/low cloud

Question 11

describe Cirrus (Ci)

Answer 11

• white filament with fibrous appearance

- formed by falling ice crystals that caught up in high level wind and get swept away in certain directions

Question 12

describe Cirrocumulus (Cc)

Answer 12

• small rounded clouds in patches, sheets or rows

- ‘mackerel sky’

Question 13

describe Cirrostratus (Cs)

Answer 13

• milky sky
• halo due to ice crystals
• thin white fibrous sheet of cloud
• sun visible through clouds

Question 14

describe Towering Cumulus (Tcu)

Answer 14

• Cumulus congestus

- building up to be cumulonimbus

Question 15

describe Cumulonimbus (Cb)

Answer 15

• towering cloud with spreading, fibrous top
• gives heavy shower
• semi continuous rainfall

Question 16

Describe Altocumulus castellanus

Answer 16

appearance of turrets

Question 17

describe stratus fractus

Answer 17

• low level clouds split up into ragged shred

- clouds are random and in different sizes

Question 18

describe Virga

Answer 18

-fall streaks of precipitation under clouds but not reaching ground

Question 19

describe Mamma

Answer 19

forms in sinking air under cumulonimbus

Question 20

describe Lenticular clouds

Answer 20

• in the uplift of mountain

- clouds that are like waves with layers

Question 21

describe Nacreous clouds (PSC)

Answer 21

• up at 30 km (stratosphere)
• visible after sunset
• made up of nitric acid
• associated with ozone depletion

Question 22

describe Noctilucent Clouds

Answer 22

• up at 80km (mesosphere)

- lit up by sun after dark