increasing cloud cover

[silv (Annette)]

it's fascinating yet far too complex for me.
I used to donate my CPU power to a BOINC project called "climateprediction".
https://boinc.berkeley.edu/projects.php

Mind blowing climate models were computed from prehistoric times all the way through into the future and you were able to view those models on a rotating earth.

[silv (Annette)]

http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/view.ph...ate=2015-04-01 is a 1 snapshot per day example of historical cloud cover data available.

an archive of all daily snapshots since 2000 is available in bulk here:
http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/about/ftp.php
the folder to get is MODAL2_D_CLD_FR

I used Filezilla as ftp-client to download the big folder because the web-download did not complete as is common with such big packages.

Unfortunately, neither my slideshow-making approach (Aperture 3.5 and iPhoto) nor my movie editing approach (FinalCut Pro 7) would yield a usable and sharable file.
But that is due to the limitations of those programs and my not willing to spend even more time working around those issues.

But the visual data IS there and could be converted into something usable by someone else, I'm sure.

There are also .csv files available of the same time period. I haven't had a look at those, though, because I assumed it would take more time for me to figure out how to use that numeric data and find out how to combine it to make it answer our question.

[Shiraz (Ray)]

thanks Silv - great links.

Now to see what the data actually says - should be fun. regards Ray

[multiweb (Marc)]

Originally Posted by silv

http://neo.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/view.ph...ate=2015-04-01 is a 1 snapshot per day example of historical cloud cover data available.

Looking at the monthly range it is easy to see why you'd choose Atacama or Namibia as prime spots for astro photography.

[silv (Annette)]

and don't ever move to Iceland!

what 1 daily snapshot, taken during daytime, does not show is locally forming clouds - and of course what happens when temperature drops during nightfall and after.

on the side: I realized that I have no lenghty cloud cover experience in any one place/country/hemisphere since 2000.
Wherever I live I do profit from having observed and pondered the heavens previously from somewhere else.
But memory and experience does not at all suffice to understand or even predict because new local conditions, geography, use of the land, are such significant factors.

[coldlegs (Stephen)]

I seem to recall reading about the "southern forties" heading north due to the circular wind pattern around the antarctic getting bigger or was it faster. Can't remember which. That might explain the increase in southern cloud cover.
Cheers
Stephen

[cfn]

As a feature included in the launch of myCFN in late spring 2016 you will have access to a number of radar locations ranging from 512km down to 128km or 64km where available along with a few hours of animations in six minutes increments.

I also encourage you to check the new high resolution forecast maps up to 36h.

[silv (Annette)]

saw a pretty animation of the water currents around Europe.


looked for similar animation for Antarctica, didn't find any.
Found The Global Conveyor Belt animation.

anyway, before this, I had only looked towards Antarctica itself as worsening cloud source in the past 10 years.

But of course, the changing water temperatures in the more Northerly parts of the planet and the slow currents add heaps to the observed change in cloud cover.

Actually, the water temperature change - and cloud cover change - which affects you now, might have begun 500 - 1000 years ago.



And indeed: there was a temperature rise back then!
That also means it's not them Volkswagen Diesel motors!

And it means that, come the waters of the "Little Ice Age" to South Eastern Australia, your cloud problem will disappear.

[silv (Annette)]

in about ~600 years time.