Describe the conditions required to change a layer of altostratus into a layer of altocumulus.?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

ANSWER: This happens if the top of the original cloud deck cools while the bottom warms. Because clouds are such good absorbers and emitters of infrared radiation, the top of the cloud will often cool as it radiates infrared energy to space more rapidly than it absorbs solar energy. Meanwhile, the bottom of the cloud will warm as it absorbs infrared energy from below more quickly than it radiates this energy away. This process makes the cloud layer conditionally unstable to the point that small convection cells begin within the cloud itself. The up and down motions in a layered cloud produce globular elements that give the cloud a lumpy appearance. The cloud forms in the rising part of a cell, and clear spaces appear where descending currents occur.