Fractal Cloud Animations Fractal Cloud Animations Zooming in on clouds is not like zooming in on any smooth analytic shape. Analytic shapes become smooth and simple as you zoom in.
Clouds reveal more and more complex structures, as is typical of fractals.
First few frames showing the transition from GOES 1 km to Landsat 0.03 km resolution, and then zoom in by 7 successive factors of 2, to see that what's inside a GOES pixel can look rather similar to what's inside the full 500 km gridbox. Here we zoom in on a vortex inside a marine stratocumulus cloud deck on July 16, 1987. The soliton is spatially localized and stable, and the velocity is related to a jump in potential temperature, through the 2-fluid dispersion relationship derived by Maxworthy and Redicoff. Both the speed and temperature jump were measured repeatedly by an aircraft of the British Met OFfice, directed by Steve Nicholls, flying north and south through the cloud. I was priveleged to share that ride with Steve.