Scientists study climate change secrets of Antarctic clouds
Australian scientists have said they were studying what rare iridescent clouds over Antarctica can reveal about global climate change.
Researchers at Australia's Mawson weather station in Antarctica captured images of the spectacular mother-of-pearl formations known as nacreous clouds late last month.
Meteorologist Renae Baker, who photographed the clouds, said they were rarely seen and only formed when conditions were extremely cold in the stratosphere 10-50 kilometres (6-31 miles) above the polar surface.
She said a stratospheric weather balloon measured temperatures of minus 87 Celsius (minus 124.6 Fahrenheit) when the clouds were photographed.
"That's about as cold as the lowest temperatures ever recorded on the surface of the Earth," she said Tuesday. "Amazingly, the winds at this height were blowing at nearly 230 kilometres (370 miles) an hour."
Australian Antarctic Division atmospheric scientist Andrew Klekociuk said his colleagues and US researchers at the Davis station were working together on research into what the strange clouds reveal about the atmosphere.
"These clouds are more than just a curiosity," he said. "They reveal extreme conditions in the atmosphere and promote chemical changes that lead to destruction of vital stratospheric ozone."
Researchers at Australia's Mawson weather station in Antarctica captured images of the spectacular mother-of-pearl formations known as nacreous clouds late last month.
Meteorologist Renae Baker, who photographed the clouds, said they were rarely seen and only formed when conditions were extremely cold in the stratosphere 10-50 kilometres (6-31 miles) above the polar surface.
She said a stratospheric weather balloon measured temperatures of minus 87 Celsius (minus 124.6 Fahrenheit) when the clouds were photographed.
"That's about as cold as the lowest temperatures ever recorded on the surface of the Earth," she said Tuesday. "Amazingly, the winds at this height were blowing at nearly 230 kilometres (370 miles) an hour."
Australian Antarctic Division atmospheric scientist Andrew Klekociuk said his colleagues and US researchers at the Davis station were working together on research into what the strange clouds reveal about the atmosphere.
"These clouds are more than just a curiosity," he said. "They reveal extreme conditions in the atmosphere and promote chemical changes that lead to destruction of vital stratospheric ozone."
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