Aerosols, large cloud generators

2014/06/16 Roa Zubia, Guillermo - Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Klima

Contaminated air contains many aerosols that cause many clouds because they cause cloud nucleation. However, a study has shown that in clean air there are also many clouds, with a very low concentration of aerosols. These results have been published in the journal Science.

In most cases, the relationship between aerosols and clouds has been studied in very polluted airs, but some meteorologists at the Weizmann Institute of Israel have studied in areas of clean atmosphere. They have received data and have developed a mathematical model to follow the creation and evolution of clouds. The study results show that aerosol concentration and cloud formation speed are not linearly related parameters. The concentration of aerosols should increase very little to quickly increase clouds in clean atmosphere.

Therefore, as far as human activity is concerned, the scientists of the Weizman Institute have proposed in the early days of industrialization (XVIII. late nineteenth century In the early twentieth century, the incidence of aerosols in clouds was very high. As for natural activity, researchers recognize that they have only done an initial research, since they have not taken into account the natural variations in the amount of aerosol. Volcanoes, the dynamics of air currents and other meteorological factors make aerosols stay in balance in a clean atmosphere, so the mathematical model of cloud generation should still be very refined.

However, research has provided innovative and innovative information: aerosols not only affect contaminated air.