Author: @madridbg, through Power Point 2010, using public domain images.
Welcome dear readers of this prestigious platform, continuing with the approach associated with the effects generated by climate change, in this installment we will be studying the behavior of marine clouds and their influence on the regulation of global temperature. As has been constant in my publications, this conceptual approach will be shared through the @ecotrain community who are characterized by the dissemination and support of topics of environmental interest.
In this sense, the NASA Langley Research Center has been monitoring the disappearance of clouds over the seas of the planet, in their study they have reached conclusions that this effect has been caused by the generalized global warming that produces a considerable increase in the environmental temperature.
Fig. 2. Marine clouds represent the planet's cooling system. Author: PublicDomainPictures
Marine clouds have exhibited an important reduction, which is a negative repercussion for life on the planet, due to the fact that these are capable of repelling to outer space a greater number of solar waves or radiation, which allows the cooling of the planetary system.
On the contrary, when our blue sky is totally desolated of clouds, the radiations impact with greater power on the aquatic or terrestrial surfaces of the planet, increasing its temperature.
Fig. 3. Solar radiation has a greater impact when the sky is clear. Author: Gerd Altmann
These conclusions are assumed based on observations that have been made from different space stations or satellites, where meteorological knowledge warns us that marine clouds function as a cooling system of the planet, hence they extend throughout the length and breadth of our oceans.
However, as the concentrations of carbon dioxide resulting from man's industrial activities increase, the disappearance of the clouds intensifies, which generates an increase in the thermal sensations in coastal areas and on the planet in general.
Fig. 4. Carbon dioxide emissions continue to be a major source of pollution in the deterioration of the planet. Author: Pixource
So we are in the presence of another of the effects of climate change and it is appropriate to ask ourselves how the conclusions made by NASA are reached?
To answer these questions, the researchers based their work on satellite observations and used specialized simulators to reproduce the variability and behavior of clouds according to controlled meteorological variations. To their surprise, the results are not at all encouraging and it is estimated that the generalized heat of following the current systems will intensify even more, which will end up generating serious alterations in terms of biodiversity and adaptation of species.
So in the opinion of Ryan Scott, an active researcher in the process:
"Low-altitude marine clouds are indispensable in the fight against climate change and in the absence of an adequate concentration of these on land, we would be in the presence of heat waves that exceed those known so far."
Although the results perhaps point to sustainable inconsistencies at the level of the simulators, since small-scale physical processes on the planet cannot be controlled, the process gives us clear notions of the effects and transitions we are currently experiencing, where environmental imbalances are becoming more marked every day.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
It is no secret that we are in constant planetary changes, in some cases imperceptible and in others the effects are more noticeable and overwhelming, such as the melting of the polar ice caps, forest fires, loss of biodiversity, among others.
Where to a large extent these alterations have been caused by unsustainable practices of man whose lowest affections have been presented since the beginning of the pandemic and covid-19, since then there has been a placebo effect to the rate of pollution that we had been bringing and we have allowed the carrying capacity of our planet to improve substantially.
However, we must be attentive since it is estimated that once we pass or overcome the effects of the pandemic, the numbers and planetary affections will intensify, hence the need to apply timely corrective measures oriented to the respect of our environment.
BIBLIOGRAPHY CONSULTED
[1] Capacci, Alberto and Stefania Mangano. 2015. "Natural catastrophes." Cuadernos de Geografía: Revista Colombiana de Geografía 24 (2): 35-51. Article: Online Access
[2] Díaz Cordero, Gerarda. (2012). CLIMATE CHANGE. Science and Society, vol. XXXVII, no. 2, pp. 227-240. Instituto Tecnológico de Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Article: Online Access
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