Noctilucent cloud

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Noctilucent clouds
Helkivad oopilved Kuresoo kohal.jpg
Noctilucent clouds over Kuresoo Bog,
Viljandimaa, Estonia
AbbreviationNLC/PMC
Altitude76,000 to 85,000 m
(250,000 to 280,000 ft)
Classification Other
Precipitation No

Noctilucent clouds, or night shining clouds, are tenuous cloud-like phenomena in the upper atmosphere of Earth. When viewed from space, they are called polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs), detectable as a diffuse scattering layer of water ice crystals near the summer polar mesopause. They consist of ice crystals and from the ground are only visible during astronomical twilight. Noctilucent roughly means "night shining" in Latin. They are most often observed during the summer months from latitudes between ±50° and ±70°. Too faint to be seen in daylight, they are visible only when the observer and the lower layers of the atmosphere are in Earth's shadow, but while these very high clouds are still in sunlight. Recent studies suggest that increased atmospheric methane emissions produce additional water vapor through chemical reactions once the methane molecules reach the mesosphere – creating, or reinforcing existing noctilucent clouds. [1]

Contents

They are the highest clouds in Earth's atmosphere, located in the mesosphere at altitudes of around 76 to 85 km (249,000 to 279,000 ft).

General

Noctilucent clouds over Uppsala, Sweden Noctilucent clouds over Uppsala, Sweden.jpg
Noctilucent clouds over Uppsala, Sweden

No confirmed record of their observation exists before 1885, although they may have been observed a few decades earlier by Thomas Romney Robinson in Armagh. [2] There are now doubts concerning Robinson's out-of-season records, partly as a result of observations, from several points around high northern latitudes, of NLC-like phenomena after the Chelyabinsk superbolide entry of February 2013 (outside the NLC season) that were actually stratospheric dust reflections visible after sunset.[ citation needed ]

Formation

Noctilucent clouds are composed of tiny crystals of water ice up to 100  nm in diameter [3] and exist at a height of about 76 to 85 km (249,000 to 279,000 ft), [4] higher than any other clouds in Earth's atmosphere. [5] Clouds in the Earth's lower atmosphere form when water collects on particles, but mesospheric clouds may form directly from water vapour [6] in addition to forming on dust particles. [7]

Noctilucent clouds during arctic dawn seen from high altitude High altitude.jpg
Noctilucent clouds during arctic dawn seen from high altitude

Data from the Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere satellite suggests that noctilucent clouds require water vapour, dust, and very cold temperatures to form. [8] The sources of both the dust and the water vapour in the upper atmosphere are not known with certainty. The dust is believed to come from micrometeors, although particulates from volcanoes and dust from the troposphere are also possibilities. The moisture could be lifted through gaps in the tropopause, as well as forming from the reaction of methane with hydroxyl radicals in the stratosphere. [9]

The exhaust from Space Shuttles, in use between 1981 and 2011, which was almost entirely water vapour after the detachment of the Solid Rocket Booster at a height of about 46 km (151,000 ft), was found to generate minuscule individual clouds. About half of the vapour was released into the thermosphere, usually at altitudes of 103 to 114 km (338,000 to 374,000 ft). [10] In August 2014, a SpaceX Falcon 9 also caused noctilucent clouds over Orlando, Florida after a launch. [11]

The exhaust can be transported to the Arctic region in little over a day, although the exact mechanism of this very high-speed transfer is unknown. As the water migrates northward, it falls from the thermosphere into the colder mesosphere, which occupies the region of the atmosphere just below. [12] Although this mechanism is the cause of individual noctilucent clouds, it is not thought to be a major contributor to the phenomenon as a whole. [9]

As the mesosphere contains very little moisture, approximately one hundred millionth that of air from the Sahara, [13] and is extremely thin, the ice crystals can form only at temperatures below about −120 °C (−184 °F). [9] This means that noctilucent clouds form predominantly during summer when, counterintuitively, the mesosphere is coldest as a result of seasonally varying vertical winds, leading to cold summertime conditions in the upper mesosphere (upwelling and adiabatic cooling) and wintertime heating (downwelling and adiabatic heating). Therefore, they cannot be observed (even if they are present) inside the Polar circles because the Sun is never low enough under the horizon at this season at these latitudes. [14] Noctilucent clouds form mostly near the polar regions, [7] because the mesosphere is coldest there. [14] Clouds in the southern hemisphere are about 1 km (3,300 ft) higher than those in the northern hemisphere. [7]

Ultraviolet radiation from the Sun breaks water molecules apart, reducing the amount of water available to form noctilucent clouds. The radiation is known to vary cyclically with the solar cycle and satellites have been tracking the decrease in brightness of the clouds with the increase of ultraviolet radiation for the last two solar cycles. It has been found that changes in the clouds follow changes in the intensity of ultraviolet rays by about a year, but the reason for this long lag is not yet known. [15]

Noctilucent clouds are known to exhibit high radar reflectivity, [16] in a frequency range of 50  MHz to 1.3 GHz. [17] This behaviour is not well understood but a possible explanation is that the ice grains become coated with a thin metal film composed of sodium and iron, which makes the cloud far more reflective to radar, [16] although this explanation remains controversial. [18] Sodium and iron atoms are stripped from incoming micrometeors and settle into a layer just above the altitude of noctilucent clouds, and measurements have shown that these elements are severely depleted when the clouds are present. Other experiments have demonstrated that, at the extremely cold temperatures of a noctilucent cloud, sodium vapour can rapidly be deposited onto an ice surface. [19]

Discovery and investigation

Noctilucent clouds are first known to have been observed in 1885, two years after the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa. [7] [20] It remains unclear whether their appearance had anything to do with the volcanic eruption or whether their discovery was due to more people observing the spectacular sunsets caused by the volcanic debris in the atmosphere. Studies have shown that noctilucent clouds are not caused solely by volcanic activity, although dust and water vapour could be injected into the upper atmosphere by eruptions and contribute to their formation. [14] Scientists at the time assumed the clouds were another manifestation of volcanic ash, but after the ash had settled out of the atmosphere, the noctilucent clouds persisted. [13] Finally, the theory that the clouds were composed of volcanic dust was disproved by Malzev in 1926. [20] In the years following their discovery, the clouds were studied extensively by Otto Jesse of Germany, who was the first to photograph them, in 1887, and seems to have been the one to coin the term "noctilucent cloud". [21] [3] His notes provide evidence that noctilucent clouds first appeared in 1885. He had been doing detailed observations of the unusual sunsets caused by the Krakatoa eruption the previous year and firmly believed that, if the clouds had been visible then, he would undoubtedly have noticed them. [22] Systematic photographic observations of the clouds were organized in 1887 by Jesse, Foerster, and Stolze and, after that year, continuous observations were carried out at the Berlin Observatory. [23] During this research, the height of the clouds was first determined, via triangulation. [24] That project was discontinued in 1896.[ citation needed ]

In the decades after Otto Jesse's death in 1901, there were few new insights into the nature of noctilucent clouds. Wegener's conjecture, that they were composed of water ice, was later shown to be correct. [25] Study was limited to ground-based observations and scientists had very little knowledge of the mesosphere until the 1960s, when direct rocket measurements began. These showed for the first time that the clouds' occurrence coincided with very low temperatures in the mesosphere. [26]

Noctilucent clouds were first detected from space by an instrument on the OGO-6 satellite in 1972. The OGO-6 observations of a bright scattering layer over the polar caps were identified as poleward extensions of these clouds. [27] A later satellite, the Solar Mesosphere Explorer, mapped the distribution of the clouds between 1981 and 1986 with its ultraviolet spectrometer. [27] The clouds were detected with a lidar in 1995 at Utah State University, even when they were not visible to the naked eye. [28] The first physical confirmation that water ice is indeed the primary component of noctilucent clouds came from the HALOE instrument on the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite in 2001. [29]

In 2001, the Swedish Odin satellite performed spectral analyses on the clouds, and produced daily global maps that revealed large patterns in their distribution. [30]

The AIM (Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere) satellite was launched on 25 April 2007. [31] It was the first satellite dedicated to studying noctilucent clouds, [32] and made its first observations a month later (25 May). [33] Images taken by the satellite show shapes in the clouds that are similar to shapes in tropospheric clouds, hinting at similarities in their dynamics. [3]

In the previous year, scientists with the Mars Express mission had announced their discovery of carbon dioxide–crystal clouds on Mars that extended to 100 km (330,000 ft) above the planet's surface. These are the highest clouds discovered over the surface of a rocky planet. Like noctilucent clouds on Earth, they can be observed only when the Sun is below the horizon. [34]

Research published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters in June 2009 suggests that noctilucent clouds observed following the Tunguska Event of 1908 are evidence that the impact was caused by a comet. [35] [36]

The United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) and the United States Department of Defense Space Test Program (STP) conducted the Charged Aerosol Release Experiment (CARE) on September 19, 2009, using exhaust particles from a Black Brant XII suborbital sounding rocket launched from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility to create an artificial noctilucent cloud. The cloud was to be observed over a period of weeks or months by ground instruments and the Spatial Heterodyne IMager for MEsospheric Radicals (SHIMMER) instrument on the NRL/STP STPSat-1 spacecraft. [37] The rocket's exhaust plume was observed and reported to news organizations in the United States from New Jersey to Massachusetts. [38]

A 2018 experiment briefly created noctilucent clouds over Alaska, allowing ground-based measurements and experiments aimed at verifying computer simulations of the phenomenon. A suborbital NASA rocket was launched on 26 January 2018 by University of Alaska professor Richard Collins. It carried water-filled canisters, which were released at about 53 mi (85 km) above the Earth. Since the naturally-occurring clouds only appear in summer, this experiment was conducted in mid-winter to assure that its results would not be mixed with a natural event. [39]

Description from satellites

Polar mesospheric clouds over the north pole Northpoleclouds AIMData c.jpg
Polar mesospheric clouds over the north pole
Polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by the rising Sun. Polar Mesospheric Clouds Illuminated by Orbital Sunrise.JPG
Polar mesospheric clouds illuminated by the rising Sun.
These images show measurements of polar mesospheric clouds over the course of one day. A Day of Night-Shining Clouds.png
These images show measurements of polar mesospheric clouds over the course of one day.

Observed from the ground, this phenomenon is known as noctilucent clouds. From satellites, PMCs are most frequently observed above 70–75° in latitude and have a season of 60 to 80 days duration centered about a peak which occurs about 20 days after the summer solstice. This holds true for both hemispheres. Great variability in scattering is observed from day-to-day and year-to- year, but averaging over large time and space scales reveals a basic underlying symmetry and pattern. The long- term behaviour of polar mesospheric cloud frequency has been found to vary inversely with solar activity.

PMC's have four major types based on physical structure and appearance. Type I veils are very tenuous and lack well-defined structure, somewhat like cirrostratus or poorly defined cirrus. [40] Type II bands are long streaks that often occur in groups arranged roughly parallel to each other. They are usually more widely spaced than the bands or elements seen with cirrocumulus clouds. [41] Type III billows are arrangements of closely spaced, roughly parallel short streaks that mostly resemble cirrus. [42] Type IV whirls are partial or, more rarely, complete rings of cloud with dark centres. [43]

When mesospheric clouds are viewed above the atmosphere, the geometrical limitations of observing from the ground are significantly reduced. They may be observed ‘edge-on’ against the comparatively dark sky background, even in full daylight. The photometer field of view must be well baffled to avoid interference from the very bright Earth about a degree beneath the cloud layer. It is a much more difficult task to observe the clouds against the bright background of the illuminated Earth, although this has been achieved in the ultraviolet in the 200 to 300 nm spectral region, because of the very small albedo of the earth in this part of spectrum.

American and Soviet astronauts observed the phenomenon from space as early as 1970. Most observations are reported from the night side of the orbit and the observer is looking towards the twilight sector. At this time the observer's eye is dark-adapted and polar mesospheric clouds would appear with maximum contrast against a comparatively dark background. Soviet astronauts have reported sightings of mesospheric clouds even when the Sun is above the horizon.

Satellite observations allow the very coldest parts of the polar mesosphere to be observed, all the way to the geographic pole. In the early 1970s, visible airglow photometers first scanned the atmospheric horizon throughout the summer polar mesospause region. [44] This experiment, which flew on the OGO-6 satellite, was the first to trace noctilucent-like cloud layers across the polar cap. The very bright scattering layer was seen in full daylight conditions, and was identified as the poleward extension of noctilucent clouds. In the early 1980s, the layer was observed again from a satellite, the Solar Mesospheric Explorer (SME). On board this satellite was an ultraviolet spectrometer, which mapped the distributions of clouds over the time period 1981 to 1986. The experiment measured the altitude profile of scattering from clouds at two spectral channels (primarily) 265 nm and 296 nm. [45] This phenomenon is now known as Polar Mesospheric Clouds.

The general seasonal characteristics of polar mesospheric clouds are well established from the five years of continuous SME data. Over that period, data for four cloud ‘seasons’ in the north, and five ‘seasons’ in the south were recorded. In both hemispheres, the season begins about one month before summer solstice and ends about two months afterwards. Since there are no biases due to such factors as changing number of hours of visibility, weather conditions, etc. this is a ‘true’ behaviour. It is believed to be a result of the fact that summertime mesopause region becomes coldest during this period causing water-ice to form, in contrast to most other regions of the atmosphere which are warmest in summer. Temperatures at latitudes equatorward of the boundary of detection never get low enough for water-ice to form.

Polar mesospheric clouds generally increase in brightness and occurrence frequency with increasing latitude, from about 60 degrees to the highest latitudes observed (85 degrees). So far, no apparent dependence on longitude has been found, nor is there any evidence of a dependence on auroral activity. [46] This indicates that control of polar mesospheric clouds is determined by geographical rather than geomagnetic factors. The brightness of polar mesospheric clouds and noctilucent clouds appears to be consistent at the latitudes where both are observed, but polar mesospheric clouds near the pole are much brighter than noctilucent clouds, even taking into account the lower sky background seen from space. Polar mesospheric cloud observations have revealed that the well-known phenomenon of the northward shifting with latitude of date of peak noctilucent cloud occurrence is partly due to the increased number of hours of noctilucent cloud visibility with latitude and partly due to an actual northward retreat of the boundary towards the end of the season.

On 8 July 2018, NASA launched a giant balloon from Esrange, Sweden which traveled through the stratosphere across the Arctic to Western Nunavut, Canada in five days. The giant balloon was loaded with cameras, which captured six million high-resolution images filling up 120 terabytes of data storage, aiming to study the PMCs which are affected by the atmospheric gravity waves, resulted from air being pushed up by mountain ranges all the way up to the mesosphere. These images would aid in studying turbulence in the atmosphere, and consequently better weather forecasting. [47] [48]

NASA uses AIM satellite to study these noctilucent clouds, which always occur during the summer season near the poles. However, tomographic analyses of AIM satellite indicate that there is a spatial negative correlation between albedo and wave‐induced altitude. [49]

Observation

Noctilucent clouds in Buryatia, Russia Noctilucent clouds in Buryatia, Russia.jpg
Noctilucent clouds in Buryatia, Russia

Noctilucent clouds are generally colourless or pale blue, [50] although occasionally other colours including red and green have been observed. [51] The characteristic blue colour comes from absorption by ozone in the path of the sunlight illuminating the noctilucent cloud. [52] They can appear as featureless bands, [50] but frequently show distinctive patterns such as streaks, wave-like undulations, and whirls. [53] They are considered a "beautiful natural phenomenon". [54] Noctilucent clouds may be confused with cirrus clouds, but appear sharper under magnification. [50] Those caused by rocket exhausts tend to show colours other than silver or blue, [51] because of iridescence caused by the uniform size of the water droplets produced. [55]

Noctilucent clouds may be seen at latitudes of 50° to 65°. [56] They seldom occur at lower latitudes (although there have been sightings as far south as Paris, Utah, Italy, Turkey and Spain), [50] [57] [58] [59] and closer to the poles it does not get dark enough for the clouds to become visible. [60] They occur during summer, from mid-May to mid-August in the northern hemisphere and between mid-November and mid-February in the southern hemisphere. [50] They are very faint and tenuous, and may be observed only in twilight around sunrise and sunset when the clouds of the lower atmosphere are in shadow, but the noctilucent cloud is illuminated by the Sun. [60] They are best seen when the Sun is between 6° and 16° below the horizon. [61] Although noctilucent clouds occur in both hemispheres, they have been observed thousands of times in the northern hemisphere, but fewer than 100 times in the southern. Southern hemisphere noctilucent clouds are fainter and occur less frequently; additionally the southern hemisphere has a lower population and less land area from which to make observations. [14] [62]

These clouds may be studied from the ground, from space, and directly by sounding rocket. Also, some noctilucent clouds are made of smaller crystals, 30 nm or less, which are invisible to observers on the ground because they do not scatter enough light. [3]

Forms

The clouds may show a large variety of different patterns and forms. An identification scheme was developed by Fogle in 1970 that classified five different forms. These classifications have since been modified and subdivided. [63] As a result of recent research, the World Meteorological Organization now recognizes four major forms that can be subdivided. Type I veils are very tenuous and lack well-defined structure, somewhat like cirrostratus or poorly defined cirrus. [64] Type II bands are long streaks that often occur in roughly parallel groups, usually more widely spaced than the bands or elements seen with cirrocumulus clouds. [65] Type III billows are arrangements of closely spaced, roughly parallel short streaks that mostly resemble cirrus. [66] Type IV whirls are partial or, more rarely, complete rings of cloud with dark centres. [67]

See also

Citations

  1. ↑ "Climate Change Is Responsible for These Rare High-Latitude Clouds". Smithsonian. 2018.
  2. ↑ Robinson made a series of interesting observations between 1849 and 1852, and two of his entries in May 1850 may describe noctilucent clouds. On 1 May 1850, he notes ‘strange luminous clouds in NW, not auroral'. This does seem like NLCs even though early May is outside the typical NLC 'window'; however it is still possible as NLCs can form at Armagh's latitude within this period.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Phillips, Tony (August 25, 2008). "Strange Clouds at the Edge of Space". NASA. Archived from the original on February 1, 2010.
  4. ↑ Hsu, Jeremy (3 September 2008). "Strange clouds spotted at the edge of Earth's atmosphere". USA Today.
  5. ↑ Simons, Paul (12 May 2008). "Mysterious noctilucent clouds span the heavens". Times Online. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  6. ↑ Murray, B.J.; Jensen, E.J. (2000). "Homogeneous nucleation of amorphous solid water particles in the upper mesosphere". Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics . 72 (1): 51–61. Bibcode:2010JASTP..72...51M. doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2009.10.007.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Chang, Kenneth (24 July 2007). "First Mission to Explore Those Wisps in the Night Sky". New York Times . Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  8. ↑ "Appearance of night-shining clouds has increased". Science Daily. 11 April 2014. Retrieved 7 May 2014.
  9. 1 2 3 About NLCs, Polar Mesospheric Clouds, from Atmospheric optics
  10. ↑ "Study Finds Space Shuttle Exhaust Creates Night-Shining Clouds" (Press release). Naval Research Laboratories. 6 March 2003. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  11. ↑ 11 Aug 2014 SpaceX Falcon 9 caused spectacular noctilucent clouds
  12. ↑ "Study Finds Space Shuttle Exhaust Creates Night-shining Clouds". NASA. 3 June 2003. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  13. 1 2 Phillips, Tony (19 February 2003). "Strange Clouds". NASA. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008. Retrieved 5 October 2008.
  14. 1 2 3 4 "Noctilucent clouds". Australian Antarctic Division.
  15. ↑ Cole, Stephen (14 March 2007). "AIM at the Edge of Space". NASA.
  16. 1 2 "Caltech Scientist Proposes Explanation for Puzzling Property of Night-Shining Clouds at the Edge of Space" (Press release). Caltech. 25 September 2008. Archived from the original on 29 September 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  17. ↑ "Project Studies Night Clouds, Radar Echoes". ECE News: 3. Fall 2003. Archived from the original on 19 July 2016. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  18. ↑ Rapp, M.; Lubken, F.J. (2009). "Comment on 'Ice iron/sodium film as cause for high noctilucent cloud radar reflectivity' by P. M. Bellan". Geophys. Res. Lett. 114 (D11): D11204. Bibcode:2009JGRD..11411204R. doi: 10.1029/2008JD011323 .
  19. ↑ Murray, B.J.; Plane, J.M.C. (2005). "Uptake of Fe, Na and K atoms on low-temperature ice: implications for metal atom scavenging in the vicinity of polar mesospheric clouds". Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 7 (23): 3970–3979. Bibcode:2005PCCP....7.3970M. doi:10.1039/b508846a. PMID   19810327.
  20. 1 2 Bergman, Jennifer (17 August 2004). "History of Observation of Noctilucent Clouds". Archived from the original on 28 June 2009. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  21. ↑ Schröder, Wilfried. "On the Diurnal Variation of Noctilucent Clouds". German Commission on History of Geophysics and Cosmical Physics. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
  22. ↑ Schröder (2001), p. 2457
  23. ↑ Schröder (2001), p. 2459
  24. ↑ Schröder (2001), p.2460
  25. ↑ Keesee, Bob. "Noctilucent Clouds". University of Albany . Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  26. ↑ Schröder (2001), p. 2464
  27. 1 2 Gadsden (1995), p. 18.
  28. ↑ "Welcome". agu.org. Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  29. ↑ Hervig, Mark; Thompson, Robert E.; McHugh, Martin; Gordley, Larry L.; Russel, James M.; Summers, Michael E. (March 2001). "First Confirmation that Water Ice is the Primary Component of Polar Mesospheric Clouds". Geophysical Research Letters. 28 (6): 971–974. Bibcode:2001GeoRL..28..971H. doi:10.1029/2000GL012104. S2CID   9335046.
  30. ↑ Karlsson, B.; Gumbel, J.; Stegman, J.; Lautier, N.; Murtagh, D.P.; The Odin Team (2004). "Studies of Noctilucent Clouds by the Odin Satellite" (PDF). 35th COSPAR Scientific Assembly. 35: 1921. Bibcode:2004cosp...35.1921K . Retrieved 16 October 2008.
  31. ↑ "Launch of AIM Aboard a Pegasus XL Rocket". NASA. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  32. ↑ NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio (10 December 2007). "The First Season of Noctilucent Clouds from AIM". NASA. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  33. ↑ O'Carroll, Cynthia (28 June 2007). "NASA Satellite Captures First View of 'Night-Shining Clouds".
  34. ↑ SPACE.com staff (28 August 2006). "Mars Clouds Higher Than Any On Earth". SPACE.com. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  35. ↑ Kelly, M.C.; C.E. Seyler; M.F. Larsen (22 June 2009). "Two-dimensional turbulence, space shuttle plume transport in the thermosphere, and a possible relation to the Great Siberian Impact Event". Geophysical Research Letters. 36 (14): L14103. Bibcode:2009GeoRL..3614103K. doi: 10.1029/2009GL038362 .
  36. ↑ Ju, Anne (24 June 2009). "A mystery solved: Space shuttle shows 1908 Tunguska explosion was caused by comet". Cornell Chronicle. Cornell University . Retrieved 25 June 2009.
  37. ↑ NASA (19 September 2009). "Night Time Artificial Cloud Study Using NASA Sounding Rocket". NASA.
  38. ↑ "Rocket launch prompts calls of strange lights in sky". Cable News Network (CNN). 20 September 2009.
  39. ↑ Gamilla, Elizabeth (10 March 2021). "To Study Night-shining Clouds, NASA Used Its "Super-Soaker" Rocket". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  40. ↑ World Meteorological Organization, ed. (2017). "Type I Veils, International Cloud Atlas" . Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  41. ↑ World Meteorological Organization, ed. (2017). "Type II Bands, International Cloud Atlas" . Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  42. ↑ World Meteorological Organization, ed. (2017). "Type III Billows, International Cloud Atlas" . Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  43. ↑ World Meteorological Organization, ed. (2017). "Type IV Whirls, International Cloud Atlas" . Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  44. ↑ Donahue, T. M.; Guenther, B.; Blamont, J. E. (1 September 1972). "Free Access Noctilucent Clouds in Daytime: Circumpolar Particulate Layers Near the Summer Mesopause". Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 29 (6): 1205–1209. Bibcode:1972JAtS...29.1205D. doi: 10.1175/1520-0469(1972)029<1205:NCIDCP>2.0.CO;2 .
  45. ↑ Thomas, Gary E (September 1984). "Solar Mesosphere Explorer measurements of polar mesospheric clouds (noctilucent clouds)". Journal of Atmospheric and Terrestrial Physics. 46 (9): 819–824. Bibcode:1984JATP...46..819T. doi:10.1016/0021-9169(84)90062-X.
  46. ↑ Thomas, G. E.; Olivero, J. J. (20 October 1989). "Climatology of polar mesospheric clouds: 2. Further analysis of solar mesosphere explorer data". Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres. 94 (D12): 14673–14681. Bibcode:1989JGR....9414673T. doi:10.1029/JD094iD12p14673.
  47. ↑ "NASA Balloon Mission Captures Electric Blue Clouds". NASA. 20 September 2018.
  48. ↑ "NASA balloon captures electric blue clouds during weather forecasting mission". TECH2. 22 September 2018.
  49. ↑ Hart, V. P.; Taylor, M. J.; Doyle, T. E.; Zhao, Y.; Pautet, P.‐D.; Carruth, B. L.; Rusch, D. W.; Russell III, J. M. (11 January 2018). "Investigating Gravity Waves in Polar Mesospheric Clouds Using Tomographic Reconstructions of AIM Satellite Imagery". Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics. 123 (1): 955–973. Bibcode:2018JGRA..123..955H. doi: 10.1002/2017JA024481 .
  50. 1 2 3 4 5 Cowley, Les. "Noctilucent Clouds, NLCs". Atmospheric Optics. Retrieved 18 October 2008.
  51. 1 2 Gadsden (1995), p. 13.
  52. ↑ Gadsen, M. (October–December 1975). "Observations of the colour and polarization of noctilucent clouds". Annales de Géophysique. 31: 507–516. Bibcode:1975AnG....31..507G.
  53. ↑ Gadsden (1995), pp.8–10.
  54. ↑ Gadsden (1995), p. 9.
  55. ↑ "Rocket Trails". Atmospheric Optics. Archived from the original on 4 August 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  56. ↑ Gadsden (1995), p. 8.
  57. ↑ Hultgren, K.; et al. (2011). "What caused the exceptional mid-latitudinal Noctilucent Cloud event in July 2009?". Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics. 73 (14–15): 2125–2131. Bibcode:2011JASTP..73.2125H. doi:10.1016/j.jastp.2010.12.008.
  58. ↑ Tunç Tezel (13 July 2008). "NLC Surprise". The World At Night (TWAN). Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  59. ↑ Calar Alto Observatory (July 2012). "Noctilucent clouds from Calar Alto". Calar Alto Observatory. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  60. 1 2 Giles, Bill (1933). "Nacreous and Noctilucent Clouds". Monthly Weather Review. BBC Weather. 61 (8): 228–229. Bibcode:1933MWRv...61..228H. doi: 10.1175/1520-0493(1933)61<228:NANC>2.0.CO;2 .
  61. ↑ Gadsden (1995), p. 11.
  62. ↑ A. Klekociuk; R. Morris; J. French (2008). "First Antarctic ground-satellite view of ice aerosol clouds at the edge of space". Australian Antarctic Division. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 19 October 2008.
  63. ↑ Gadsden (1995), pp. 9–10.
  64. ↑ World Meteorological Organization, ed. (2017). "Type I Veils, International Cloud Atlas" . Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  65. ↑ World Meteorological Organization, ed. (2017). "Type II Bands, International Cloud Atlas" . Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  66. ↑ World Meteorological Organization, ed. (2017). "Type III Billows, International Cloud Atlas" . Retrieved 18 July 2019.
  67. ↑ World Meteorological Organization, ed. (2017). "Type IV Whirls, International Cloud Atlas" . Retrieved 18 July 2019.

General and cited references

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Cloud cover refers to the fraction of the sky obscured by clouds on average when observed from a particular location. Okta is the usual unit for measurement of the cloud cover. The cloud cover is correlated to the sunshine duration as the least cloudy locales are the sunniest ones while the cloudiest areas are the least sunny places, as clouds can block sunlight, especially at sunrise and sunset where sunlight is already limited.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atmosphere of Earth</span> Gas layer surrounding Earth

The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth creates pressure, absorbs most meteoroids and ultraviolet solar radiation, warms the surface through heat retention, and reduces temperature extremes between day and night, maintaining conditions allowing life and liquid water to exist on the Earth's surface.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nimbus program</span> Second-generation U.S. robotic spacecraft

The Nimbus satellites were second-generation U.S. robotic spacecraft launched between 1964 and 1978 used for meteorological research and development. The spacecraft were designed to serve as stabilized, Earth-oriented platforms for the testing of advanced systems to sense and collect atmospheric science data. Seven Nimbus spacecraft have been launched into near-polar, Sun-synchronous orbits beginning with Nimbus 1 on August 28, 1964. On board the Nimbus satellites are various instrumentation for imaging, sounding, and other studies in different spectral regions. The Nimbus satellites were launched aboard Thor-Agena rockets and Delta rockets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atmospheric physics</span> The application of physics to the study of the atmosphere

Within the atmospheric sciences, atmospheric physics is the application of physics to the study of the atmosphere. Atmospheric physicists attempt to model Earth's atmosphere and the atmospheres of the other planets using fluid flow equations, radiation budget, and energy transfer processes in the atmosphere. In order to model weather systems, atmospheric physicists employ elements of scattering theory, wave propagation models, cloud physics, statistical mechanics and spatial statistics which are highly mathematical and related to physics. It has close links to meteorology and climatology and also covers the design and construction of instruments for studying the atmosphere and the interpretation of the data they provide, including remote sensing instruments. At the dawn of the space age and the introduction of sounding rockets, aeronomy became a subdiscipline concerning the upper layers of the atmosphere, where dissociation and ionization are important.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polar stratospheric cloud</span> Clouds occurring in the stratosphere in high-latitude regions

Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are clouds in the winter polar stratosphere at altitudes of 15,000–25,000 m (49,000–82,000 ft). They are best observed during civil twilight, when the Sun is between 1 and 6 degrees below the horizon, as well as in winter and in more northerly latitudes. One main type of PSC is made up mostly of supercooled droplets of water and nitric acid and is implicated in the formation of ozone holes. The other main type consists only of ice crystals which are not harmful. This type of PSC is also referred to as nacreous.

This is a list of meteorology topics. The terms relate to meteorology, the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting.

Polar mesospheric summer echoes (PMSE) is the phenomenon of anomalous radar echoes found between 80 and 90 km in altitude from May through early August in the Arctic, and from November through to February in the Antarctic. These strong radar echoes are associated with the extremely cold temperatures that occur above continental Antarctica during the summer. Rocket and radar measurements indicate that a partial reflection from a multitude of ion layers and constructive interference causes at least some of the PMSE.

Amorphous ice is an amorphous solid form of water. Common ice is a crystalline material wherein the molecules are regularly arranged in a hexagonal lattice, whereas amorphous ice lacks long-range order in its molecular arrangement. Amorphous ice is produced either by rapid cooling of liquid water, or by compressing ordinary ice at low temperatures.

Odin is a Swedish satellite working in two disciplines: astrophysics and aeronomy, and it was named after Odin of Norse mythology. Within the field of astrophysics, Odin was used until the spring of 2007 aiding in the study of star formation. Odin is still used for aeronomical observations, including exploration of the depletion of the ozone layer and effects of global warming. In February 2019 it celebrated 18 years in Earth orbit, and was still functioning nominally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere</span> NASA satellite of the Explorer program

The Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere is a NASA satellite launched in 2007 to conduct a planned 26-month study of noctilucent clouds (NLCs). It is the ninetieth Explorer program mission and is part of the NASA-funded Small Explorer program (SMEX).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atmosphere of Venus</span> Gas layer surrounding Venus

The atmosphere of Venus is primarily of supercritical carbon dioxide and is much denser and hotter than that of Earth. The temperature at the surface is 740 K, and the pressure is 93 bar (1,350 psi), roughly the pressure found 900 m (3,000 ft) under water on Earth. The Venusian atmosphere supports opaque clouds of sulfuric acid, making optical Earth-based and orbital observation of the surface impossible. Information about the topography has been obtained exclusively by radar imaging. Aside from carbon dioxide, the other main component is nitrogen. Other chemical compounds are present only in trace amounts.

An extraterrestrial vortex is a vortex that occurs on planets and natural satellites other than Earth that have sufficient atmospheres. Most observed extraterrestrial vortices have been seen in large cyclones, or anticyclones. However, occasional dust storms have been known to produce vortices on Mars and Titan. Various spacecraft missions have recorded evidence of past and present extraterrestrial vortices. The largest extraterrestrial vortices are found on the gas giants, Jupiter and Saturn, and the ice giants, Uranus and Neptune.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atmospheric chemistry observational databases</span> Aspect of atmospheric sciences

Over the last two centuries many environmental chemical observations have been made from a variety of ground-based, airborne, and orbital platforms and deposited in databases. Many of these databases are publicly available. All of the instruments mentioned in this article give online public access to their data. These observations are critical in developing our understanding of the Earth's atmosphere and issues such as climate change, ozone depletion and air quality. Some of the external links provide repositories of many of these datasets in one place. For example, the Cambridge Atmospheric Chemical Database, is a large database in a uniform ASCII format. Each observation is augmented with the meteorological conditions such as the temperature, potential temperature, geopotential height, and equivalent PV latitude.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Climate of Mars</span> Climate patterns of the terrestrial planet

The climate of Mars has been a topic of scientific curiosity for centuries, in part because it is the only terrestrial planet whose surface can be easily directly observed in detail from the Earth with help from a telescope.

The Charged Aerosol Release Experiment also known as CARE, is a project run by NASA which will use a rocket to release dust in the upper atmosphere to form a dusty plasma in space. The clouds thus generated are intended to simulate naturally occurring phenomena called noctilucent clouds, which are the highest clouds in the atmosphere. The CARE experiment is intended to create an artificial dust layer at the boundary of space in a controlled sense, in order to "allow scientists to study different aspects of it, the turbulence generated on the inside, the distribution of dust particles and such."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Student Nitric Oxide Explorer</span> NASA satellite of the Explorer program

Student Nitric Oxide Explorer, was a NASA small scientific satellite which studied the concentration of nitric oxide in the thermosphere. It was launched in 1998 as part of NASA's Explorer program. The satellite was the first of three missions developed within the Student Explorer Demonstration Initiative (STEDI) program funded by the NASA and managed by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA). STEDI was a pilot program to demonstrate that high-quality space science can be carried out with small, low-cost free-flying satellites on a time scale of two years from go-ahead to launch. The satellite was developed by the University of Colorado Boulder's Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) and had met its goals by the time its mission ended with reentry in December 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thor experiment</span> Experiment aimed to investigate electrical activity

The Thor experiment aims to investigate electrical activity from thunderstorms and convection related to water vapour transport. The experiment is named as 'Thor' after the god of thunder, lightning and storms in Nordic mythology. The experiment is conducted by European Space Agency with a thundercloud imaging system 400 km above Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MATS (satellite)</span> Swedish research satellite

MATS is a Swedish research satellite designed for studying waves in Earth's atmosphere. Launch occurred on 4 November 2022 from the Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 at the Mahia Peninsula in New Zealand.

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