ASSIGNMENT

Std: 10th Sub: Water Security Topic: Types of Clouds

Clouds are given different names based on their shape and their height
in the sky. Some clouds are puffy like cotton while others are grey and uniform.
Some clouds are near the ground, while others are near the top of the
troposphere.

A cloud is a visible accumulation of minute droplets of water, ice

crystals, or both, suspended in the air. Though they vary in shape and size, all
clouds are basically formed in the same way through the vertical of air above
the condensation level. When warm air rises, swells and cools, it forms
clouds. Many water droplets formed together scatter reflect sunlight and
you see a white could, but with a dark or grey cloud, the sunlight is scattered
in all directions instead of reflected. Clouds may also form in contact with the
ground surface, too. Such a cloud would be known as fog, ice fog, or mist.

Most clouds can be divided into groups (high/medium/low) based on the

height of the cloud's base above the Earth's surface.

High Clouds

Cirrus, Cirrocumulus and Cirrostratus are high level clouds. They are typically
thin and white in appearance, but can appear in a magnificent array of colours
when the sun is low on the horizon.

Cirrus
Detached clouds in the form of white, delicate filaments, mostly white patches
or narrow bands. They may have a fibrous (hair-like) and/or silky sheen
appearance.
Cirrus clouds are always composed of ice crystals, and their transparent
character depends upon the degree of separation of the crystals. As a rule,
when these clouds cross the sun's disk they hardly diminish its brightness.
When they are exceptionally thick they may veil its light and obliterate its
contour.
Before sunrise and after sunset, cirrus is often coloured bright yellow or red.
These clouds are lit up long before other clouds and fade out much later; some
time after sunset they become grey.
At all hours of the day Cirrus near the horizon is often of a yellowish colour;
this is due to distance and to the great thickness of air traversed by the rays of
light.

Cirrocumulus
Thin, white patch, sheet, or layered of clouds without shading. They are
composed of very small elements in the form of more or less regularly
arranged grains or ripples.
Most of these elements have an apparent width of less than one degree.
In general, Cirrocumulus represents a degraded state of cirrus and cirrostratus,
both of which may change into it and is an uncommon cloud. There will be a
connection with cirrus or cirrostratus and will show some characteristics of ice
crystal clouds.

Cirrostratus
Transparent, whitish veil clouds with a fibrous (hair-like) or smooth
appearance. A sheet of cirrostratus which is very extensive, nearly always ends
by covering the whole sky.
During the day, when the sun is sufficiently high above the horizon, the sheet is
never thick enough to prevent shadows of objects on the ground.
A milky veil of fog (or thin Stratus) is distinguished from a veil of Cirrostratus of
a similar appearance by the halo phenomena which the sun or the moon
nearly always produces in a layer of Cirrostratus.
Medium Clouds

Altocumulus, Altostratus, and Nimbostratus are medium clouds They are

composed primarily of water droplets. However, they can also be composed of
ice crystals when temperatures are low enough.

Altocumulus
White and/or grey patch, sheet or layered clouds, rounded masses or rolls.
They may be partly fibrous or diffuse and may or may not be merged.
Most of these regularly arranged small elements have an apparent width of
one to five degrees.
The most common medium cloud, more than one layer of Altocumulus often
appears at different levels at the same time. Many times, Altocumulus will
appear with other cloud types.
Nimbostratus

Resulting from thickening Altostratus, this is a dark grey cloud layer diffused by
falling rain or snow. Also, low, ragged clouds frequently occur beneath this
cloud which sometimes merges with its base.

The cloud base lowers as precipitation continues. Because of the lowering base
it is often mistaken for a low cloud. Both Altostratus and Nimbostratus can
extend into the high level of clouds.
Low Clouds
Stratus, Stratocumulus, Cumulus and Cumulonimbus are low clouds composed
of water droplets. Cumulonimbus, with its strong vertical updraft, extends well
into the high level of clouds.

Stratus
A generally grey cloud layer with a uniform base which may, if thick enough,
produce drizzle, ice prisms, or snow grains. When the sun is visible through this
cloud, its outline is clearly seen.
Often when a layer of Stratus breaks up and scatters, blue sky is seen.
Sometimes appearing as ragged sheets Stratus clouds do not produce a halo
phenomenon except, occasionally at very low temperatures.

Stratocumulus
Grey or whitish patch, sheet, or layered clouds which almost always have dark
honeycomb like appearance, rounded masses or rolls
They also have regularly arranged small elements with an apparent width of
more than five degrees.

Cumulus
Detached, generally dense clouds and with sharp outlines that develop
vertically in the form of rising mounds, domes or towers with bulging upper
parts often resembling a cauliflower.
The sunlit parts of these clouds are mostly brilliant white while their bases are
relatively dark and horizontal.
Over land cumulus develops on days of clear skies, and is due diurnal
convection; it appears in the morning, grows, and then more or less dissolves
again toward evening.

Cumulonimbus
The thunderstorm cloud, this is a heavy and dense cloud in the form of a
mountain or huge tower. The upper portion is usually smoothed, fibrous or
striated and nearly always flattened in the shape of an anvil or vast plume.
Under the base of this cloud which is often very dark, there are often low
ragged clouds that may or may not merge with the base. They produce
precipitation, which sometimes is in the form of virga.
Cumulonimbus clouds also produce hail and tornadoes.

Clouds are an important part of our atmosphere and they have a critical
role in controlling the amount of the sun’s energy that reaches the earth’s
surface. Clouds can have a cooling effect on the atmosphere, which counteract
increases in temperature caused by climate change. Understanding exactly
how clouds impact on our climate and ensuring that we can accurately model
the current role and extent of clouds is critical to determine how any changes
in climate will affect clouds and how clouds will affect climate in the future.