A recent observation in Australia suggests that cloud formation is related to vegetation:
A fence built to prevent rabbits from entering the Australian outback has unintentionally allowed scientists to study the effects of land use on regional climates.
The rabbit-proof fence — or bunny fence — in Western Australia was completed in 1907 and stretches about 2,000 miles. It acts as a boundary separating native vegetation from farmland. Within the fence area, scientists have observed a strange phenomenon: above the native vegetation, the sky is rich in rain-producing clouds. But the sky on the farmland side is clear. [At Australia’s Bunny Fence, Variable Cloudiness Prompts Climate Study. New York Times. August 14 2007]
That may not sound as astounding as seeing a pig flying but wait till you see this picture:
And what is so interesting about this finding?
Dr. Nair speculates that increases in the world’s population will prompt the clearing of more land to increase food production. But he wonders whether, in the long run, “we will reach a point of land clearing that will diminish food production,” because rainfall has decreased. [At Australia’s Bunny Fence, Variable Cloudiness Prompts Climate Study. New York Times. August 14 2007]
Can anybody say decreasing returns to scale?
One reply on “[1333] Of less trees means less cloudiness”
I’ve heard that fact was how islanders figured out how to get to the next island (say, in South East Asia). Sailing aimlessly in a great big ocean is a death sentence. They would navigate according to the cloud formations.