Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Tech/Science

New Research Shows Cumulus Clouds Dissipate Quickly During Solar Eclipses

Are you worried about clouds during the upcoming April 8, 2024, total solar eclipse? Then this may be some good news for you. According to new research out of the Netherlands, cumulus clouds (those puffy, cotton-like clouds) dissipate quickly during a solar eclipse as the ground cools.

Solar eclipses cause rapid dissipation of cumulus clouds, as observed in a study conducted in the Netherlands. Researchers used a new method to recover satellite measurements during three solar eclipses. The results could have implications for climate engineering using artificial eclipses.

Cumulus clouds over land start to disappear almost instantly during a partial solar eclipse. Until recently, satellite measurements during an eclipse resulted in dark spots in the cloud map. But researchers from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands (TU Delft) and Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute (KNMI) were able to recover satellite measurements by using a new method. The results may have implications for proposed climate engineering ideas, because disappearing clouds can partly oppose the cooling effect of artificial solar eclipses.

Although the effects of solar eclipses have been studied for centuries, it was unknown how strong clouds precisely react. Lead author Victor Trees of TU Delft said: ‘From Earth, you can count the clouds and watch them disappear, but that only provides anecdotal evidence. Even without a solar eclipse, clouds are constantly changing.’ The peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications Earth and Environment published the results of the study on February 12, 2024.

Satellites in geostationary orbit can continuously measure many clouds simultaneously in large areas, including impassable terrain. During a solar eclipse, measurements were not reliable, because the satellite algorithms did not take into account the decrease in sunlight during solar eclipses. This resulted in large dark patches in the cloud maps. Researchers have now succeeded in restoring satellite measurements during solar eclipses. They did so by accurately calculating the percentage of the sun that is obscured by the moon during an eclipse. This new method allowed them to correct the satellite measurements, revealing the rapid dissipation of cumulus clouds during a solar eclipse.

LEAVE A RESPONSE

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *