Cloud and fog organization

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Low stratus rolls observed around Half Moon Bay, California.

Cloud and fog organization - organization of clouds or fog into distinct pattern such as cellular convection closed cells, cellular convection open cells, longitudinal rolls, cloud streets, and other types .

Such organization is usually observed from satellite or aircraft observations over the ocean. Type of organization depends on depth of the atmospheric boundary layer, wind speed, vertical profile of the wind speed, and stability of the atmosphere. Gravity waves can be one source of cloud organization. Even though similarities to Bénard cells are appealing it is not clear if this mechanism is indeed responsible for the cloud and fog organization.

Besides atmospheric scientists studying such phenomena it is, somewhat surprisingly, of great interest to olympic class sailors ^[1] who associate various organized cloud convection with steady, unsteady (related to the cellular mechanism), pulsing (associated with the transverse rolls), oscillating (longitudinal rolls), and ribboning winds (boosted roll pattern). Seminal book by Bethwaite (1993) is a definite sailing perspective source of discussed phenomena.