The Architecture of Clouds

About this book

The Architecture of Clouds describes in a visual, poetic, and personal way how clouds are related to our everyday life and the weather. It expertly details how the art and science of clouds are interconnected with straightforward scientific explanations of the meteorological context in which clouds appear and why they form, alongside in-depth descriptions of the visual and artistic aspects of clouds. The air motion dynamics, cloud microphysics and thermodynamics discussed are written in a style accessible to all readers.

The clouds showcased within the text range from placid ground fog to smoothly sculpted, stationary, mountain-wave clouds to violent clouds associated with convective storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes. Clouds are classified as whether they are buoyant or not, and if they are, how deep they extend through the atmosphere. An exhaustive and impressive compilation of photos taken from all over the world, including photographs taken from satellites, are featured in each chapter. Radar depictions of the inside of some clouds and storms provide a unique addition.

This book provides an abundance of detail and photography that will be appreciated by scientists, students, and any reader interested in exploring beyond the aesthetics of clouds.

Contents

1. Introduction: The Physical Theory and the Aesthetics of Clouds
2. Non-buoyant Clouds in a Stable Atmosphere
3. Buoyant Clouds: Part I. Convective, Non-precipitating Clouds
4. Buoyant Clouds: Part II. “Deep,” Convective, Precipitating Clouds
5. Clouds Influenced by Rotation
6. The Future of Cloud Observing

Appendix 1: Computing the pressure-gradient force for air
Appendix 2: How changes in vorticity with time can be explained without explicitly taking the pressure into account
Appendix 3: Camera equipment, film, and the evolution of cloud-photography techniques

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Biography

Howard B. (Howie "Cb") Bluestein was raised in Boston and Miami Beach. He earned B. S. and M. S. degrees in electrical engineering and M. S. and PhD degrees in meteorology from M.I.T. He is a Professor and George Lynn Cross Research Professor in the School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, Norman and a frequent visiting scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. He uses advanced, mobile Doppler-radar systems to study severe convective storms and tornadoes. His cloud photographs have been published and exhibited in art museums worldwide.