kelly@bruno
Rare and Beautiful
I was really excited to see the newly classified Asperitas cloud yesterday afternoon! The cloud has been spotted for decades, but was not officially recognized until this month, March 2017. They were named Asperitas after the Latin word, meaning roughness. As is usually noted with these Asperitas, storm clouds loomed nearby, but there was no actually precipitation from the Asperitas clouds. The clouds are very beautiful and look almost like rolling ocean waves.
Cloud coverage is extremely important to ecological processes. Periods of light and dark play a role in species development and behavior. It has been shown that cloud coverage at night, near urban areas mimics natural light; this amplification of light pollution could have huge impact on species eating habits, behavior and growth. It also strikes me that on beaches this could be particularly concerning as there is already an issue of sea turtles confusing artificial light for moonlight, putting the animals at risk. In this way, it is vital that ecologists have an understanding of cloud types and behavior and their influence in the biosphere.
journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone...
Rare and Beautiful
I was really excited to see the newly classified Asperitas cloud yesterday afternoon! The cloud has been spotted for decades, but was not officially recognized until this month, March 2017. They were named Asperitas after the Latin word, meaning roughness. As is usually noted with these Asperitas, storm clouds loomed nearby, but there was no actually precipitation from the Asperitas clouds. The clouds are very beautiful and look almost like rolling ocean waves.
Cloud coverage is extremely important to ecological processes. Periods of light and dark play a role in species development and behavior. It has been shown that cloud coverage at night, near urban areas mimics natural light; this amplification of light pollution could have huge impact on species eating habits, behavior and growth. It also strikes me that on beaches this could be particularly concerning as there is already an issue of sea turtles confusing artificial light for moonlight, putting the animals at risk. In this way, it is vital that ecologists have an understanding of cloud types and behavior and their influence in the biosphere.
journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone...