CloudSat and CALIPSO
Here's an article about cloud science, CloudSat and CALIPSO, from the Christian Science Monitor. They write, "Photos of Earth's atmosphere, taken from space, often serve as icons for the fragile balance of conditions that support life on the planet. Graeme Stephens points to a slimmer icon - the amount of water in clouds. Stretch that water evenly around the planet, he explains, and it would form a wispy layer less than a tenth of a millimeter thick...
"Thunderhead-spawned cirrus are ubiquitous over the tropical oceans. They tend to trap heat and outlast their terrestrial counterparts. As a result, they have an enormous effect on weather and climate patterns beyond their immediate neighborhood, researchers say. But knowledge of the inner workings of clouds and the factors that influence their life cycles is about as skimpy as the tenuous layers they can form...
"CloudSat, and its US-French companion, CALIPSO, are joining three other orbiters in a constellation of atmospheric satellites dubbed 'the A-train.' Unlike an earthbound train, they don't orbit single file. But they do cross the equator within minutes of each other to develop a comprehensive look at factors that affect weather and climate...
"CloudSat and CALIPSO can be steered to cross the same spot within 15 seconds of each other to focus on the same sets of features. CALIPSO carries a laser-based radar to gather information on high-altitude cirrus and on particles in the atmosphere known as aerosols. These can enhance or inhibit cloud formation and precipitation, as well as reduce incoming sunlight on their own. CloudSat's radar can tease out information about a cloud's liquid and ice content, as well as precipitation. It can also pierce high-level cloud layers that have stymied other satellites from seeing what is happening underneath. One goal is to get a better handle on where inside a cloud water vapor releases its heat as it cools, condenses, and reverts to liquid drops or ice in tropical thunderstorms. This 'latent' heat supplies the energy the storm needs to survive, and "the distribution of that heating is pretty important for the way storms develop," Stephens says. Indeed, the knowledge could lead to more-accurate long-term weather forecasts far from the thundering heads, he suggests. In the tropics, individual thunderstorms can organize into clusters. These clusters become systems that extend up to 2,000 miles across. These systems tend to appear in the Indian Ocean and move east across the Pacific in cycles ranging from 30 to 60 days. They can influence storm formation far to the north and south of their locations. Understanding their origins and travel habits has become something of a holy grail for atmospheric science."
Here's an interview with Graeme Stephens of Colorado State University, the lead scientist on CloudSat. He's quoted as saying, "You know, we think about the Earth as a blue planet with lots and lots of water. But in fact, the water that's in clouds, which is absolutely tiny compared to the water in the oceans is perhaps the most critical water of all for us because it's the water that replenishes the lakes and rivers and restocks our aquifers and it's the water that we use to sustain life and produce food. So water, in clouds, is really important for us. You know, how much rain falls from clouds is absolutely important for life on Earth."
Category: Colorado Water
6:48:17 AM 
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