Fair-weather clouds hold dirty secret
Friday, April 26, 2013 - 08:00
in Earth & Climate
(Phys.org) —Their fluffy appearance is deceiving. Fair-weather clouds have a darker side, according to scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Fair-weather cumulus clouds contain an increasing amount of droplets formed around pollution particles. The new simulations, using data collected over Oklahoma, show how pollution from Oklahoma City increased the number of cloud droplets and reduced their size, affecting their sunlight absorbing, light scattering and cloud-seeding performance.