For many Australians, that day arrived in 2017, when a marine heat wave spurred massive coral bleaching and death across much of the 2,300-kilometre Great Barrier Reef.
Is Marina cloud brightening the answer for corals?
Marine cloud brightening drew support in part because it theoretically provides direct relief precisely when and where corals need it most.
What is bleaching the Great Barrier Reef?
The first time that scientists observed a major bleaching event along the Great Barrier Reef was in 1998, and the second event followed four years later. In both cases, corals expelled the algae that live within them and that provide colour and energy through photosynthesis.
Do clouds protect from uv rays?
Clouds Clouds filter out some UV rays from reaching the ground. However, it depends on the type of cloud.
Nevertheless, the effect of clouds cannot be neglected, and the variability that clouds induce on UV radiation is particularly significant when short timescales are involved. In this review we show, summarize, and compare several works that deal with the effect of clouds on UV radiation.
But cloud brightening has also been studied as a potential global intervention, and it has attracted criticism from some environmental groups who argue that it carries inevitable ecological risks and detracts from efforts to limit greenhouse gases.
They also found several cases of cloud enhancement effect. The large scatter of points was explained by a lack of information on cloud optical characteristics and also by differences depending on whether the Sun is occulted or not. In a second step, Frederick and Steele [1995] suggested and checked several regression models.
Do clouds come from the ocean?
Due to solar radiation, surface ocean water warms up and evaporates into the atmosphere. The water vapour is transported by the ascending air currents to altitudes where low temperatures condense the steam into water droplets or ice crystals that form clouds.
The sun heats the surface of the ocean. This causes water to evaporate. Warm air rises, so updrafts carry moist air upward. As air expands, it cools, and cool air won’t hold as much water vapor as warm air. So, the moisture starts condensing into droplets, forming clouds.
Some sources claimed when the water vapour turns into tiny specks of liquid water, a cloud forms. Clouds are simply liquid water: very, very small drops of liquid water. So small in fact, that they can be held up in the air by rising air currents.
How much water do clouds hold?
Clouds do not ‘ hold’ water. Clouds are made of water (and air, of course). This water may be in liquid or solid form, thus you have clouds made up of liquid water droplets, and clouds made up of ice crystals (on occasions you can even have hail).
The next thing we wanted the answer to was: what are clouds made up of?
Clouds are made of water (and air, of course). This water may be in liquid or solid form, thus you have clouds made up of liquid water droplets, and clouds made up of ice crystals (on occasions you can even have hail).
Do cloudy days have higher UV levels?
Clouds can block up to 70-90% of these UV-B rays during times of extreme overcast. If, however, the forecast presents itself as “partly cloudy,” the situation is entirely different. A term coined as the ‘broken cloud effect’ reveals that certain clouds can actually create higher UV levels than a perfectly cloudless day.
What does ‘partly cloudy’ mean when it comes to UV?
If, however, the forecast presents itself as “partly cloudy,” the situation is entirely different. A term coined as the ‘broken cloud effect’ reveals that certain clouds can actually create higher UV levels than a perfectly cloudless day.