CLOUDS

What are clouds?

http://retards.org/photography/dimage/photographs/2001/10/08/20011008_173048-800.jpg

Clouds are visible masses of ice particles or water droplets

suspended in air.

They are not a gas!!!

What does it take to make a cloud?

Cloud Ingredients:

1 – Water Vapor

All clouds are made from water vapor that has condensed from the air.

Cloud Ingredients:

2 – Dew Point Temperature

Air must be cooled to its dew point for condensation!

Cloud Ingredients:

3 – Condensation Nuclei

A solid surface on which condensation can take place.

How do condensation

nuclei get into the air?

Dust Storms

http://www.mountwashington.org/notebook/images/drought/dust-storm.jpg

ash

Pollution (smoke)

Forest Fires- smoke

How do cloud droplets

form?

Vapor

Coalesces

Cloud Formation:

1. Warm, moist air rises.

2. Rising air cools to its dew point.

3. Water vapor condenses on particle to form liquid cloud droplets.

* Clouds can only form in warm rising air!

Resources• http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~sastry/calendar/clouds.jpg• http://retards.org/photography/dimage/index.php?keyword=sky&nav=keyword• http://apollo.lsc.vsc.edu/classes/met130/notes/chapter6/graphics/drop_cloud_ccn.gif• http://vortex.plymouth.edu/precip/CCN1.jpg• http://www.life.uiuc.edu/bio100/lectures/s97lects/05Succession/ruapehu.jpg• http://www.climatesolutions.org/images/burningFossil.jpg• http://www.jonesctr.org/research/graphics/forest_fire.jpg