A maritime cloud is a low-level cloud formation that develops over oceanic regions, typically within the marine boundary layer, and is strongly modulated by sea surface temperature, atmospheric stability, and aerosol availability. These clouds, often stratocumulus or cumulus, form in a moist but relatively clean environment where cloud condensation nuclei concentrations are generally lower than over continents, affecting droplet number, size distributions, and albedo. Maritime clouds exert a significant influence on the surface energy budget and large-scale circulation by modulating shortwave reflection and longwave emission, and they play a central role in cloud–aerosol interactions, cloud feedbacks, and precipitation efficiency in marine meteorology and climate system studies.
According to NOAA, the global average sea level has risen 8–9 inches (21–24 centimeters) since 1880. The rate at which the sea level is rising is increasing, threatening coastal cities and ecosystems around the world.
When militia attacks disrupted shipping lanes in the Red Sea, few imagined the ripple effects would reach the clouds over the South Atlantic. But for Florida State University atmospheric scientist Michael Diamond, the rerouting ...
Earth Sciences
Nov 22, 2025
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Current climate models have so far been unable to adequately reproduce the clouds over the Southern Ocean around Antarctica. An international team has now taken an important step toward filling this gap. The researchers were ...
Environment
Jul 15, 2025
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Tropical marine low clouds play a crucial role in regulating Earth's climate. However, whether they mitigate or exacerbate global warming has long remained a mystery. Now, researchers from the School of Engineering at the ...
Earth Sciences
Mar 26, 2025
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