Thursday, December 13, 2007

Mysterious Clouds More Common Due to Climate Change?

In this article which can be found on the National Geographic website states that very bright and illuminating clouds have been more common in polar skies. According to this article, the possible cause for this may be climate change. So-called noctilucent clouds, which streak across the sky in vibrant colors during polar summers, are ten times brighter than previously believed, according to recent data from NASA's Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) satellite. A likely explanation for the clouds' surge is that temperatures in the upper atmosphere have gotten even colder due to the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The evidence linking carbon dioxide to changes in night-shining clouds is still tentative, Russell (AIM principal investigator) said. Go to: nationalgeographic.com and check out the images of the night shining clouds, they actually look really nice.

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