Final answer:
Clouds form when air is lifted and water vapor condenses. This process, particularly over the oceans, involves heat transfer from the surface to the atmosphere, leading to the formation of cumulus clouds and weather phenomena like thunderheads and hurricanes. The mechanism involves a positive feedback cycle where warmed, moist air rises, cools, and condenses, releasing latent heat and causing further lifting.
Step-by-step explanation:
In order for clouds to form, air must be lifted through certain principal lifting mechanisms. An informative example of this process is when water evaporates from the oceans, leading to the formation of clouds. The evaporated water, now in vapor form, takes heat away from the ocean. When this water vapor condenses into liquid droplets, forming clouds, the heat is released into the atmosphere, thus facilitating the transfer of heat from the ocean to the atmosphere. This heat release occurs as the vapor condenses in clouds, a principle known as latent heat release, and it is the driving force behind the formation of impressive cumulus clouds and weather systems like thunderheads and hurricanes.
Specifically, heat is removed from the ocean when water evaporates, and if this vapor then condenses to form clouds, far from where it evaporated, it releases heat at higher altitudes. This release of heat energy causes the surrounding air to expand and become less dense, consequently rising to colder regions in the atmosphere. The positive feedback mechanism takes place as the rising air cools, resulting in more condensation that produces even more energy and causes the clouds to rise further. This self-reinforcing cycle is capable of producing thunderstorms and even hurricanes.
Figure 14.20, illustrating cumulus clouds, exemplifies this kind of vertical development of clouds driven by convection and positive feedback. The cumulus clouds rise due to the lifting of air that has been heated at the surface – a key factor in the water cycle and weather patterns we experience.