A New Cloud Type

soundhertz

15th July 2009 - 12:00 AM

I've seen noctilucent clouds, and lenticular cloud formations, but if you live in new Zealand you might see these dramatic clouds

QUOTE

An "asperatus" cloud rolls over New Zealand's South Island in an undated picture.

This apparently new class of clouds is still a mystery. But experts suspect asperatus clouds' choppy undersides may be due to strong winds disturbing previously stable layers of warm and cold air.

Asperatus clouds may spur the first new classification in the World Meteorological Organization's International Cloud Atlas since the 1950s, Gavin Pretor-Pinney said.

Since the last addition to the atlas, the emergence of satellite imagery has pushed meteorologists to take a much broader view on weather and focus less on small-scale cloud formations.

But "the tide is turning back again," in part because the humble cloud is seen as a "wild card" in climate-change prediction, Pretor-Pinney said.

LeMone agreed that clouds are a "big unknown" in climate change, mostly because climate-change models do not provide a high-enough resolution to determine what clouds' impacts will be on a changing world.

User posted image: User posted image
User posted image: User posted image
User posted image: User posted image

Nihilist

15th July 2009 - 10:54 PM

Sorry bud those images are faked, it can happen to anyone.

Image 1 would be done with Adobe Photoshop, using the Liquefy filter.
Image 2 and 3 are 3D.

Not to say cloud formations like that can’t exist. My field of expertise is in digital art not meteorology.

Horta

16th July 2009 - 03:19 AM

Soundhertz

Thank you for putting up those cool clouds. I am from Florida and have seen many clouds in my time. Those clouds look real to me. The first image looks like some clouds that I have seen that have a potential of producing tornadoes. Storm chasers usually try to fallow such ominous looking clouds.

MjolnirPants

16th July 2009 - 03:41 AM

QUOTE (Nihilist+Jul 15 2009, 05:54 PM)

Sorry bud those images are faked, it can happen to anyone.

Image 1 would be done with Adobe Photoshop, using the Liquefy filter.
Image 2 and 3 are 3D.

Not to say cloud formations like that can’t exist. My field of expertise is in digital art not meteorology.

Incorrect, sir!

I am also quite experienced in digital imagery, and I can say with absolute assurance that the simple application of the liquefy tool would not produce that first picture.

Pay attention to the small details, details which would be fudged out when using the liquefy tool. While at first glance, this appears to be a simple photoshopping job, a closer look reveals a level of detail that a photoshop job would not accomplish, unless done by someone with extensive experience, using a very high resolution, uncompressed original and a wonderful eye for detail. Download and open the first image in photoshop, then check the edges of the pine tree on the left side which extends into the sky: To maintain the integrity of those edges would require that the tree be removed from (or not originally present in) the working environment, then later comped in. The same holds true for the shorter deciduous tree to the right of the tall pine and the taller deciduous on the far right.

As for he others, they are not 3d, but HDR photographs. If I were looking at a cloud formation such as that, I would endeavor to capture it in HDR, myself.
Here's an example of another HDR image:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/comm...cin_hdr_001.jpg
It is a photograph (or rather, a composite series of photographs), and not a painting or 3D rendering, despite it's appearance as such.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDR_photography

If that's not enough, Soundhertz's source is quite the reputable one:
National Geographic News - PICTURES: New Cloud Type Discovered?

EDIT: The third image has been heavily retouched, the original (or rather, a cropped portion of it) is located in the link to SH's source above.

soundhertz

16th July 2009 - 04:36 PM

Thanks B; I wasn't going to argue it but I'm glad you did, having much more knowledge than me on this. Horta, the clouds you are talking about are called mammatocumulus, and you are right - both those and asperatus are caused by extreme turbulence. But asperatus are more of a dry stratus formation that has been fairly well mutilated, while mamma is associated with a very juicy unstable atmosphere. Florida eh? My family is on the west coast just above New Port Richie.

And yes I've seen mamma there...Pasco County gets it's share of air time on the Weather Channel

Horta

21st July 2009 - 10:10 PM

QUOTE (soundhertz+Jul 16 2009, 04:36 PM)

Thanks B; I wasn't going to argue it but I'm glad you did, having much more knowledge than me on this. Horta, the clouds you are talking about are called mammatocumulus, and you are right - both those and asperatus are caused by extreme turbulence. But asperatus are more of a dry stratus formation that has been fairly well mutilated, while mamma is associated with a very juicy unstable atmosphere. Florida eh? My family is on the west coast just above New Port Richie.

And yes I've seen mamma there...Pasco County gets it's share of air time on the Weather Channel

Soundhertz
Thanks. So the Asperatus are dry. Do these clouds produce the severe lightening like that of Jupiter? I ask because scientists found out Jupiter is much dryer than first thought. Since these clouds are dry but are the results of extreme turbulence Is it similar to Jupiter?

Your family lives in New Port Richie. They are about two hours north of me. I too am on the Florida west coast.

MjolnirPants

22nd July 2009 - 02:05 AM

Just to jump on the bandwagon: I'm the third Floridian mentioned in this thread.

East coast, though.

Nihilist

22nd July 2009 - 02:23 AM

QUOTE

Incorrect, sir!

yes I think your right. I jumped the gun there. I just didn’t see a source and the images that were originally provided looked very bad, enough to make me think they weren’t real. My apologies, if my post detracted attention from the topic.

soundhertz

30th July 2009 - 12:44 AM

QUOTE

My apologies, if my post detracted attention from the topic

No problem at all!
Here are some nice recent pics of the aforementioned mamma, in a cool setting:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#6hKuRk/cloud...pic:Photography

soundhertz

25th August 2009 - 04:06 AM

An amazing cloudpic.

User posted image: http://www.atoptics.co.uk/fz253.htm

Beastor

25th August 2009 - 08:16 AM

hey theres some great pics there.

I will use them for my desktop. Cheers

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