A new discovery reveals that the formation of clouds is aided by a certain molecule produced by trees, making natural cloud seeding possible. Two experiments also revealed that climate predictions will be a lot easier based on clouds.
It appears that the role of clouds to our environment was underestimated and if the studies are confirmed, it would mean that it is cloudier in the pre-industrial world.
Prior to the study, it was believed that cloud formations are dependent on the sulfuric acid in the atmosphere. But the new experiments reveal that this acid, as well as carbon dioxide is produced during the combustion of fossil fuels. Such chemical is known to seed clouds.
"So, climate scientists have assumed that since pre-industrial times, there has been a large increase in cloud cover, which is thought to have an overall cooling effect by reflecting sunlight back into space. And they have assumed that this overall cooling effect has partially masked the climate's underlying sensitivity to rising carbon dioxide levels," said Davide Castelvecchi, according to Nature.
Tiny particles of liquid water or ice crystals make up clouds but it needs a nucleus around it, called aerosols that are necessary for condensation which forms clouds. These aerosols may come from a wide range of sources from land, water, and in the atmosphere.
Clouds and its aerosols-small airborne particles are essential to climate predictions since they reflect sunlight back into space. When light is reflected away from Earth, it can create a cooling effect, Reporting Climate Science wrote.
If this study conducted by the research group at CERN in Switzerland called CLOUD (for Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) is indeed true, it may mean that it is cloudier during the pre-industrial era, manifesting that global warming isn't as severe as it is now. But despite the new findings, researchers said that it will not alter predictions of climate change that is adopted in Paris by most nations around the globe.
And since trees did a great job in seeding clouds even prior the industrial revolution, it appears that the atmosphere is not as sensitive as previously guesses. The study might also lead to certain revisions of many climate models, Forbes reported.
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