4 ms·

So Arctic albedo causes the new scary feedback in the climate system? What happens when the old scary feedback mechanism (water vapor) condenses into opaque whi

• vacri 13y ago
  Warmer air holds more vapour than colder air, so there's less condensation to be had. I can't say what the extent of that is, but there is a form of feedback there.
  • guscost 13y ago
    It sounds like you're putting the cart before the horse. Why would the atmosphere be significantly warmer if condensed clouds are reflecting solar energy into space? Furthermore, if there is a robust model suggesting that extra water vapor in warm air negates the effect of cloud albedo, wouldn't that hypothesis be supported by the tropospheric temperature record?
    • vacri 13y ago
      No cart before the horse. It's just a potential feedback mechanism - if something else is causing warming, this may help accelerate it. It's not an isolated factor. My weather science is weak - which is why I can't say what the extent of this is - it's just that shiny snow moved into the atmosphere does not necessarily cause an equal amount of shiny clouds. It may even create more clouds - the same amount of water makes more cloud than ice - but it's a complex picture, and warm air can hold a hell of a lot of water in invisible vapour form.
      • guscost 13y ago
        > it's a complex picture We can certainly agree on that point.
• phaemon 13y ago
  White clouds aren't opaque, they're translucent. Opaque clouds are the dark grey/black clouds you sometimes see.