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Aircraft punch 50-kilometre-wide holes in clouds

Pictures of spreads from New Scientist magazine


GIANT holes in clouds are created by aircraft. For the first time, a computer model has shown how these holes can grow to be tens of kilometres across in a few hours.

The holes form because the clouds are supercooled, meaning their water is liquid despite being below 0 °C. Any disturbance to this state - a plane for instance - turns the water into ice crystals that fall away, leaving a small hole.

Andy Heymsfield of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado has used a simulation to show why they then grow so big. When liquid freezes it releases a little heat, which rises and sets up a convection current. As part of this, some supercooled liquid water drops through the warm air and evaporates. The circulating air cascades this effect outwards, ...



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