© 2013 freetiiupix.com all about clouds our natural world all about clouds our natural world all...

© 2013 FreeTiiuPix.com © 2013 FreeTiiuPix.com ALL ABOUT CLOUDSALL ABOUT CLOUDSOur Natural WorldOur Natural World

Our Natural WorldALL ABOUT CLOUDS

Our Natural WorldALL ABOUT CLOUDS

This slide show courtesy of FreeTiiuPix.comFree educational resources photographed & written by Tiiu Roiser BAA, BEd. & Kevin Chorowiec OCT, BAS, BEd.

© 2013 FreeTiiuPix.com


What is a cloud?

“A visible collection of very fine water droplets or ice particles suspended in the sky, usually at an elevation above the earth’s surface.”

Rain or snow may fall from clouds when the particles coagulate.

Clouds can also be made up of smoke or dust, steam, gases, insects – all kinds of things suspended in the air.


How are clouds formed?

All air contains water in the form of vapour.

When warm air rises, it expands and cools.

Since cool air can’t hold as much water vapour as warm air, some of the vapour condenses around tiny pieces of dust to form a droplet.

When there are many droplets – billions ! – a visible cloud is formed.


The formation of clouds is part of the earth’s Water Cycle…..


Water Evaporates Warm Air Rises

Water Droplets Form

Water Vapour

sticks to dust.

Cool air causesCondensation

Billions of droplets form clouds.

Precipi-tation

Water flows into ground & lakes.

TheWaterCycle


Ground WaterSurface Runoff

Ground Water

Evaporation

Transpiration

The Water Cycle

Condensation


Why are clouds different colours?

Clouds appear white since they are reflecting all the colours of the rainbow evenly.

Dark clouds or gray clouds contain many water droplets.

The light can no longer shine through giving them a dark appearance.


Sunsets bring brilliant colours that result from the sun’s light passing through a thick layer of atmosphere and dust particles.

According to “Rayleigh scattering”, shorter light wavelengths are scattered (blues) and longer ones remain (reds).

The clouds that are in the sky during sunset, reflect the unscattered red/orange colours.


A London pharmacist and amateur meteorologist named Luke Howard (1772-1864) originated the classification of clouds.

He wrote a book called The Modifications of Clouds in 1803.

He used the following terms:

Hair = Cirrus

Heap = Cumulus

Layer = Stratus

Rain-bearing = Nimbus

He further added “alto” to mean “middle” and“fracto” to indicate “broken”.

These terms are still used in the meteorological community today.

Source: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/8/6/No._01_-_Clouds.pdf

Luke Howard, F.R.S. (1772-1864). From a Painting by John Opie. PD-USSource: Wikipedia


The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has classified clouds into 10 main groups which are divided into three height levels.

Sources: http://science-edu.larc.nasa.gov/SCOOL/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/r/i/Cloud_types_for_observers.pdf

HIGH – Base is above 6 km.(20,000 feet +)

MIDDLE – Base is between 2 & 6 km. (6,500 to 20,000 feet)

LOW - Base is below 2 km. (6,500 feet & under)

High Clouds = CirrusCirrostratus, Cirrocumulus, Contrails

Middle Clouds = Altostratus, Altocumulus, Nimbostratus

Low Clouds = Stratus, Stratocumulus, Cumulus, Cumulonimbus, Fog


The amount of water vapour in the air, the temperature and the wind, all affect what type of cloud is formed.

The two basic types of clouds are:

Stratus Clouds = LayeredCumulus Clouds = Heaped and Puffy


Did you know…. That FOG is just a low level cloud on the ground ?


Cloud names are made up of a combination of prefixes & suffixes that relate to HEIGHT & DESCRIPTION/TYPE:

Adding the prefix “cirro” means that the cloud’s base is at a high level.

Adding the prefix “alto” means that the cloud is at mid level.

Note: Low clouds don’t get a prefix.

If any cloud produces rain or snow, the word “nimbo” gets added to its beginning, or “nimbus” is added to its end.

These clouds are Cirro + stratus =

Cirrostratus

(High + wispy)


Let’s see how to describe Cumulus clouds:

When low =

When at medium height =

When at high level =

When low & filled with rain =

Cumulus

Altocumulus

Cirrocumulus

Cumulonimbus


Source: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/clouds/cloud-spotting-guide

Printable versions of this image are available at the website.

Notice how the cloud names change depending upon their height.


Can you identify these clouds?


We’ve all seen the clouds above us looking toward the sky, but what do clouds look like from above?

Based on typical commercial aircraft cruising altitudes, the following images were taken from a jet airliner somewhere between 25,000 – 37,000 feet.


The setting sun high above the clouds.


Did you know…. That a favourite past time for many people is “Cloud Gazing”?

Watching changing stratus and cumulus clouds drift across the sky and looking for shapes is a fun past time. What shapes can you see in these clouds?


This slide show presentation courtesy of FreeTiiuPix.com. Free educational resources photographed & written by Tiiu Roiser, BAA, Bed. & Kevin Chorowiec OCT, BAS, BEd.

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Sources used:

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/ http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/8/6/No._01_-_Clouds.pdfhttp://science-edu.larc.nasa.gov/SCOOL/http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/media/pdf/r/i/Cloud_types_for_observers.pdfhttp://www.metoffice.gov.uk/learning/clouds/cloud-spotting-guideWikipedia

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