Planetary Winds- Clouds and their Types

From childhood, clouds have always fascinated us. Clouds and types of clouds have been seen as magical objects that rain and snow come out from, and while our fascination for them might have reduced, clouds and types of clouds still play an important role in wind formation and weather phenomena.

What are Clouds?

A cloud is a noticeable body or aerosol that consists of liquid drops, frozen crystals, and other particles that are held by the atmosphere at a particular altitude. 

For our planet Earth, clouds are formed when warm air rises and then cools immediately. This is because warm air carriers water as vapor or moisture, and the as the warm air rises, it will get cooler as it goes higher(since air cools as it expands and there is less pressure higher in the atmosphere)

The Atmosphere

The atmosphere is the entire mass and body of air that envelops the earth or a heavenly body. It is a layer of gases that encircle a planet and is suspended by the action of gravity.

Layers of the Atmosphere

As said before in the paragraph above, the atmosphere is a layer of gases. This means that the entire atmosphere can be divided into sub-layers which are 5, and are as follows:

• Troposphere

This layer extends from the surface of the earth to about 12 kilometers upwards. It contains most of the water vapor and important gases for respiration, that is oxygen and carbon dioxide.

The troposphere is also where most activities of Earth’s weather take place, from thunderstorms to bail rain, etc all take place here, and most clouds are found here too. Aviation is also found in this layer.

• Stratosphere

The stratosphere is located between 12 kilometers and 50 kilometers; extending above the surface of the Earth. In the stratosphere, we find the ozone layer, a dense layer of ozone, a compound that helps to absorb ultraviolet rays from the sun and produces oxygen as a by-product.

Jets can also be found in this layer of the atmosphere.

• Mesosphere

The mesosphere is found between a range of 50 kilometers to 80 kilometers. It is the coldest place on the entire earth, and the highest cloud system can be seen here- the noctilucent clouds. It also contains little water vapor as rockets and missiles travel in this layer.

• Thermosphere

Found at a distance of about 80 to 700 kilometers, the thermosphere contains no clouds or water vapor. Aurora van be seen at this point in the atmosphere

• Ionosphere

As the name implies, the ionosphere is a region of ions whose outer end is continuous with space itself. 

Classification and Types of Clouds 

In the troposphere, the classification of clouds is based on different specifications. 

Looking at them sequentially, we have:

• Physical form

Clouds in the troposphere can take up to 5 separate physical forms which are

1. Stratiform

These clouds look like flat, blanket-like structures that are stable and can be formed at any height in the troposphere.

They are subdivided into classes based on level of altitude such as

•  Cirrostratus(high)
• Altostratus(middle)
• Status(low)
• Nimbostratus(many levels)
• Fog

Sometimes, fog is classified as a surface-based type cloud depending on how it was formed as sometimes a low-level stratus cloud can move to ground level and be classified as fog.

    2. Cirriform

Cirriform clouds look like filaments that are either being disconnected or kind of merged. They are formed mostly when air is unstable and types are

• Cirrus
• Cirrostratus
• Cirrocumulus

  3. Stratocumiliform

These clouds have characteristics that are similar to those of both stratified cumuliform clouds. They usually adopt the shapes of rolls or ripples across the sky.  Its types are given as

• Cirrocumulus
• Altocumulus
• Stratocumulus

  4. Cumuliform

Cumuliform clouds materialize as single clumps or heaps. The larger ones signify impending atmospheric instability and a type is the Cumulus group of clouds e.g. cumulus humility, cumulus mediocre, etc.

  5. Cumulonimbiform

Cumulonimbiform clouds are the largest type of clouds with great upright size. They indicate instability in the atmosphere as they develop from stable air.

The types of clouds listed above can still be divided into smaller levels and genera for better specification to cloud types.

Winds and Clouds- A Relationship

Clouds and wind are interrelated in both function and formation in meteorology. 

For instance, winds can be formed from clouds. This can be done in this way:

• Air becomes warm and rises and cools
• Condensation of water vapor in the air forms water and then clouds
• The water then joins together and falls as rain
• Then, cool air descends
• Cool air blows from regions of higher pressure to regions of lower pressure as “wind”

Hence, we can see how clouds can generate wind.

Also, clouds move due to wind movement. Winds help to propel the droplets of water inside the clouds at all levels of the atmosphere, from stratus clouds to cirrus clouds. 

Even when the cloud seems stationary, or is moving. This is because as droplets are moving with the wind, simultaneously new ones are being formed at exactly the places where the former drops were, giving the impression that the cloud is stationary and vice-versa for the back of the cloud too.

Conclusion

The weather is made up of diverse components of which clouds and types of clouds can be included as one. They help to influence the weather and also block out radiation, not to mention their role in precipitation.