Pyrocumulonimbus

From Glossary of Meteorology

An extreme manifestation of a pyrocumulus (pyroCu) cloud, generated by the heat of a wildfire, that often rises to the upper troposphere or lower stratosphere. Often abbreviated “pyroCb.” The pyroCb is distinctive owing to the presence of smoke, giving the cloud an off-white color and peculiar signatures at certain infrared wavelengths. The distinguishing characteristics of pyroCb, as opposed to pyroCu, are production of lightning, thunder, or hail or a fibrous or diffuse upper portion. The discovery of hemisphere-scale stratospheric smoke plumes traceable to pyroCbs reveals their buoyant energy and potential to inject smoke into the lower stratosphere. A pyrocumulonimbus cloud is also known as a pyrocumulonimbus flammagenitus cloud (CbFg).

World Meteorological Organization, 2017. International Cloud Atlas. Available at https://cloudatlas.wmo.int/en/home.html.


Pirocumulonimbo[edit | edit source]

Es una manifestación extrema de una nube pirocúmulo (piroCu), generada por el calor de un incendio forestal, que a menudo se eleva a la troposfera superior o la estratosfera inferior. A menudo se abrevia como “piroCb”. El piroCb se distingue por la presencia de humo, lo que le da a la nube un color blanquecino y firmas peculiares en ciertas longitudes de onda infrarrojas. Las características distintivas del piroCB, a diferencia del piroCu, incluyen la producción de relámpagos, truenos o granizo, o una porción superior fibrosa o difusa. El descubrimiento de columnas de humo estratosféricas a escala hemisférica rastreables a piroCb revela su energía de empuje hidrostático y su potencial para inyectar humo en la estratosfera inferior. Una nube de pirocumulonimbo también se conoce como nube pyrocumulonimbus flammagenitus (CbFg).

Term edited 1 March 2021

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