Where Do Clouds Come In?
But aerosols are versatile when it comes to climate. In addition to producing the whitehouse effect they can affect clouds. And because clouds play a huge role in climate, the aerosol-cloud interaction could be major. There are two opposing ways aerosols work. They can invigorate clouds or inhibit them: • Invigorate Clouds – Aerosols help form clouds by serving as sites where tiny cloud droplets can gather. Check out this NASA video on “Cloud Makers” (you’ll need Windows Media Player to view it). The more aerosols in the atmosphere, the more cloud droplets there are in a cloud. The more cloud droplets, the more reflective the clouds are and the smaller the droplets are — this makes the cloud less apt to rain and therefore longer lasting. Both of these effects make clouds reflect more sunlight back to space and thus, like the whitehouse effect, they cool the atmosphere. • Inhibit Clouds – Aerosols can absorb sunlight. This absorbed radiation heats the atmosphere and makes clouds evapor
