Fluids: Liquids and Gases - Computer Animation: Algorithms and Techniques - page 263

FIGURE 8.11
An example of a cumulus cloud. (Copyright 1997 David S. Ebert.)

Altitude
Cirrus/cirro High clouds (by itself, it refers to high level fibrous clouds)

Altus/alto Middle clouds

Otherwise Low-level clouds

Shape
Cumulus/cumulo Puffy (Latin for “stack”)

Stratus/strato Layer (Latin for “sheet")

Moisture
Nimubs/nimbo Water bearing

Certain types of clouds can typically be found at certain elevations. For example, high-level clouds are
cirrus, cirrostratus, and cirrocumulus; mid-level clouds are altocumulus, altostratus, and nimbostratus;
low-level clouds are cumulonimbus, stratocumulus, stratus, and cumulus. Clouds typified by vertical
development are fair weather cumulus and cumulonimbus. Other cloud names less frequently encoun-
tered include contrails, billow clouds, mammatus, orographic, and pileus clouds.
Clouds are formed by low-level processes such as particles in the air, turbulence, wind shear,
and temperature gradients combined with a significant moisture content. The basic moisture cycle
consists of the following: transpiration ! evaporation ! condensation ! precipitation ! and back to
transpiration.