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Puffy cotton balls floating in the sky


Puffy cotton balls floating in the sky
Photo Information
Copyright: Janice Dunn (Janice) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1076 W: 64 N: 1302] (4153)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2005-03-21
Categories: Daily Life
Camera: Canon EOS 300D
Exposure: f/11, 1/800 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2005-03-24 3:07
Viewed: 818
Points: 8
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
Fair Weather Cumulus Clouds
Puffy cotton balls floating in the sky

Over the last week, here in Auckland, New Zealand, we had had beautiful days, with blue, blue skies. Many cumulus clouds have gathered and I have enjoyed seeing the white of the clouds contrasting so well with the blue skies. I wanted to find out about these lovely white puffy balls floating in the sky.

They are known as fair weather cumulus and are fuelled by buoyant bubbles of air, or thermals, that rise upward from the earth's surface. As they rise, the water vapour within cools and condenses forming cloud droplets. Young fair weather cumulus have sharply defined edges and bases while the edges of older clouds appear more ragged, an artefact of cloud erosion. Evaporation along the cloud edges cools the surrounding air, making it heavier and producing sinking motion (or subsidence) outside the cloud.

The downward motion inhibits further convection and the growth of additional thermals from below, which is why fair weather cumulus typically have expanses of clear sky between them. Without a continued supply of rising air, the cloud begins to erode and eventually disappears.

I found this all out from:
www.2010.atmos.uiuc.edu
saintclaude, jp80 has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

  • Great 
  • Graal Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4632 W: 120 N: 429] (40749)
  • [2005-03-24 6:51]

Hi Janice!
Beautiful clouds.Good contrast and colours. Interesting note. Well done.
Regards
Aleksander

Nice sky and nice note too, Janice!
Kyoto 2010, uh!
Without the US, it shall be very difficult!!!
See you soon, Janice!
Claude

  • Great 
  • jp80 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1073 W: 180 N: 1002] (8425)
  • [2005-03-25 2:21]

Hi Janice,
I really like this strange bid cloud. I think this parts shot (trees, cloud, sky) is very well composed. Good colors and sharpness too. Just seems like a paint. Thanks for sharing !

Pascal

  • Great 
  • manny Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2980 W: 89 N: 4012] (21348)
  • [2005-03-26 12:11]

intresting cloud formation.Good eyes to hav ecaptured this almost graphic presntation.

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