Clouds play a key role in the Earth’s climate, but are also a source of uncertainty in climate models. Annica Ekman is developing a new model to describe cloud formation at the Earth’s poles, with the aim of making more reliable predictions about our future climate.
Clouds play a key role in the global climate. Photo: Magnus Bergström/KVA
"It’s so beautiful! But you can also see tiny details in the clouds that impact the amount of light they let through,” says Annica Ekman, professor of meteorology at Stockholm University.
She opens a photo on her computer. It was taken in the Arctic, the large area of sea and land surrounding the North Pole. Swirling clouds billow over the white polar ice. The sun is low in the sky and fissures in the ice reveal dark sea water.
Annica Ekman wants to ascertain the impact polar clouds have on global warming. To this end, she is developing a new mathematical model that describes how clouds are formed.
Annica Ekman, Professor of Meteorology. Photo: Magnus Bergström/KAW
Overall, clouds currently have a cooling effect on the Earth’s surface. But most current climate models suggest their cooling effect will diminish in a warming climate. This is uncertain, however, not least as regards clouds over the polar regions. Ekman elaborates:
“We know fairly little about clouds in the polar regions, and they are oversimplified in the climate models.