Ice heating up cold clouds
Wednesday, September 21, 2011 - 15:31
in Earth & Climate
In the Arctic, competition within clouds is hot. The small amount of heat released when water vapor condenses on ice crystals in Arctic clouds, which contain both water and ice, determines the cloud's survival, according to scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Environment Canada. This heat dries the cloud and leads to the demise of water droplets and eventually, the cloud itself. The study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, shows how a few ice crystals can overcome numerous water droplets in a heated battle for vapor within cold clouds.
