Hey guys! A new week just began and a new phenomenon is out for you! Did you know that there is a place in Australia that cloud hunters and glider pilots flood in their hunt for massive clouds that stretch for distances as long as one kilometer?
Come on! I'll show you...
These people are after a very very rare cloud phenomenon called the Morning Glory.
Anything to do with this Glory phenomenon?
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org - Creator: Brocken Inaglory- License: CC BY-SA 3.0
No, this is a different phenomenon and we discussed it in another post [Bizarre Natural Phenomena Vol. 48 - The Shadowman In A Halo (The Brocken Spectre Phenomenon)].
The Morning Glory is referred to rare cloud formations, which usually appear over the Gulf of Carpentaria (Northern Australia) from September to November [1, 3] and look like this:
Image source: commons.wikimedia.org - Creator: Mick Petroff - License: CC BY-SA 3.0
Wow! That's like huge tunnels for water droplets to play around! Sure they are not some kind of droplets fun park?
Ahm... I guess you could say they are. These are roll, arcus clouds of enormous measures. They can get as long as 1 kilometer and as high as 1-2 kilometers, travelling at a speed of 60-120 km/h 100-200 meters above our heads. They are developing formations as they keep growing at their front while diminishing at their back and may bring thunderstorms or harmless showers with them. The frontal part of the cloud experiences intense activity, with vertical updrafts of air being responsible for the rolling appearance. The rest of the cloud (middle and back) undergoes violent air turbulence and sinks. [1, 3]
The Morning Glory is often accompanied by sudden wind squalls, intense low-level wind shear, a rapid increase in the vertical displacement of air parcels, and a sharp pressure jump at the surface.... The cloud quickly dissipates over land where the air is drier. [1]
They are also characterized as solitary waves. These waves are comprised of one single crest and move without changing their shapes at velocities that remain stable. A cloud does not necessarily accompany this kind of air wave, which is the biggest in the world. [1, 3]
Image from: commons.wikimedia.org - Author: Jochos89 - License: CC BY-SA 4.0
Why Morning?
Because you can see it in the early morning hours. [1]
How are they made?
This is a question that still remains unanswered, although there are some theories that could possibly explain their occurrence. But because these clouds are quite often in their rarity over a specific Australian gulf, there is plausible explanation considering their formation there.
Based on the unique morphology around the Gulf of Carpentaria in Australia, scientists have come to believe that it is the air currents of opposite directions that urge these peculiar cloud rolls to form. Air currents from the East meet with air currents form the West and cause an uprising of air during the day. The currents meet in the middle of the Cape York peninsula where they "form a line of clouds".
During nighttime, when temperatures fall, the air cools down and starts moving downwards. It is right then that a surface inversion (which means that temperatures instead of dropping with the increase in altitude, they raise) runs to meet it. Due to the density variable (different air density above and below the inversion layer), the descending, cool air comes below the surface inversion air mass and this movement is what causes "a series of waves or rolling cylinders". These air cylinders keep rolling underneath the inversion layer, with air rising at the front and sinking at the back. It is in the early morning hours that the surrounding air is saturated (humid) enough to allow for a cloud to form in the front part of the air cylinder. As the day goes by and temperatures rise, the cloud slowly dissipates and disappears. [1, 2]
The thrill-seekers
The unique conditions that feed the Morning Glory attract glider pilots that wish to "surf" those clouds. As the front updraft continually sends air upwards, there is a constant thrust to the pilots, who keep floating in the skies until the cloud finally evaporates. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Where else besides Australia?
Queensland, Australia is not the only place you can witness the Morning Glory, but it is the only place it happens so frequently and we can have a clue on the how's and why's. According to Wikipedia, the phenomenon has been viewed in other parts of Australia, the Arabian Sea, the US, Brazil, the English Channel, the Netherlands, Munich, Berlin, eastern Russia, Lebanon and South Africa. [1]
Do you want to see it on video?
Here's another one
References
[1] wikipedia.org
[2] higginsstormchasing.com
[3] antranik.org
[4] treehugger.com
[5] theaustralian.com.au
Thank you so much for your time!
Until my next post,
Steem on and keep smiling, people!
