Episode Details

Clouds form through a simple, elegant recipe of rising air, cooling and condensation onto tiny particles of dust and salt — yet that same familiar sky-scenery turns out to be the single largest source of uncertainty in climate projections. This episode explains how clouds form, why different types look so different, why clouds both warm and cool the planet at once, and why cloud feedback remains a genuinely open scientific question.

You'll come away understanding adiabatic cooling, condensation nuclei, the difference between stratus, cumulus and cirrus clouds, why clouds have competing warming and cooling effects, and why climate models still struggle to represent clouds precisely.

Talking Science is sponsored by Kinsoft. Visit www.kinsoft.com.au

Further reading: IPCC – Assessment Report chapters on cloud feedback and climate sensitivity; NASA – "Clouds and Earth's Radiant Energy System" (CERES); Bureau of Meteorology – cloud types and formation.