Cloud formation

Cloud formation is the development of visible cloud droplets or ice crystals from atmospheric water vapor, usually after air cools to saturation and vapor condenses or deposits onto particles.

Dew point: The temperature at which air becomes saturated with water vapor at a given pressure and moisture content. Cooling air to its dew point can bring it to saturation and initiate condensation.
Water vapor: Water in its gaseous phase, present in the atmosphere as an invisible constituent of air. It is the atmospheric material that becomes cloud droplets or ice crystals.
Cumulus cloud: A cloud with a distinct, often puffy outline, typically produced by rising thermals. It is a visible example of cloud formation through localized convective ascent.
Aerosol–cloud interactions: The ways atmospheric particles affect cloud droplet number, cloud properties, and precipitation. Uncertain particle effects make cloud formation and its climate influence difficult to quantify.
Relative humidity: The ratio of water vapor present in air to the amount needed for saturation at the same temperature. It tracks how close cooling air is to the threshold for cloud formation.
Condensation: The phase change in which a gas becomes a liquid. Cloud droplets form when atmospheric water vapor condenses.
Orographic lift: The upward deflection of airflow by terrain such as a mountain range. Air rising over terrain can cool to saturation and form clouds or precipitation.
Cloud microphysics: The small-scale physical processes governing cloud particles, including their formation, growth, and interactions. It covers the unresolved details of how newly formed droplets and crystals evolve.
Adiabatic cooling: Cooling caused by a parcel of air expanding as it rises, without exchanging heat with its surroundings. Rising air often cools this way until water vapor condenses.
Deposition (phase transition): The phase change in which a gas becomes a solid without passing through a liquid phase. Ice crystals can form directly from water vapor through deposition.

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