New Types of Clouds Spotted in Australia
Clouds are considered to be one of the most fascinating weather
phenomena. It indicates weather condition and acts as a weather
forecaster.
Classification of clouds
Clouds are classified on the basis of the amount of moisture they hold,
their shape and appearance and where in the atmosphere they form. There
are ten basic cloud-forms or genera including stratus, cumulus and
cirrus clouds.
The genres are further subdivided into cloud species which describes the
shape and internal structure of the cloud and cloud variety that
describes the transparency and arrangement of clouds.
Luke Howard, a British pharmacist was the first to propose a
nomenclature system for clouds in the beginning of the 19th century.
This system was adopted as a standard way of categorizing cloud types.
This system, governed by the WMO uses three layers of classification and
was used by weather forecasters to predict weather conditions by looking
at the clouds in the sky.
The new type of cloud
Meteorologists have noticed an unusual type of storm cloud that can be
spotted in skies around the world. Experts at the Royal Meteorological
Society are trying to include this new cloud type to the international
nomenclature scheme used by forecasters to identify clouds. This new
cloud type has been named "Asperatus" which in Latin means rough.
Structure of the new cloud
This new type of cloud forms a dark blanket across the sky. It was Gavin
Pretor-Pinney, founder of the Cloud Appreciation Society who first
identified the Asperatus clouds when he saw the photographs of the
clouds sent to him by members of the society. According to him, this new
form of cloud did not match with any other existing form of cloud. It is
also been reported that the clouds in spite of looking stormy, did not
turn into a storm at the end. Instead, the clouds broke up in to pieces.
How is Asperatus formed?
The surging, lumpy lower part of the cloud is believed to have been
caused by the hot and cold air meeting between the lower and middle
atmosphere thus creating a transition effect just like the effect we see
when oil and vinegar is mixed.
Where can you locate Asperatus clouds?
These Asperatus clouds have been spotted almost all over the world such
as the flat plains of Iowa and Australia and over the arctic sea off the
coast of Greenland. According to Professor Paul Hardaker, the Chief
Executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, the dark structures of
the cloud must be due to lot of water vapour condensation in the cloud.
If the experts are successful to classify this new kind of cloud, then
this will be the first variety of clouds to be classified since 1953.
Researchers will then apply to the UN's World Meteorological
Organisation in Geneva to include this new cloud type into the
International Cloud Atlas which s used as a worldwide standard for
meteorologists.
The Met Office will release a book called Extraordinary Clouds which
will include some pictures of this unusual type of cloud formation. Mr
Pretor-Pinney in his The Cloudspotter's Guide published the photographs
of all the types of clouds.
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