A report on Stratocumulus cloud, Cloud and Altostratus cloud

A stratocumulus cloud, occasionally called a cumulostratus, belongs to a genus-type of clouds characterized by large dark, rounded masses, usually in groups, lines, or waves, the individual elements being larger than those in altocumulus, and the whole being at a lower height, usually below 2000 m. Weak convective currents create shallow cloud layers because of drier, stable air above preventing continued vertical development.

Altostratus is a middle-altitude cloud genus made up of water droplets, ice crystals, or a mixture of the two.

The main representative cloud types for each of these forms are stratiform, cumuliform, stratocumuliform, cumulonimbiform, and cirriform.

They also can occur under altostratus cloud preceding a warm or occluded front, when cumulus usually lose vertical development as the sun's heat decreases.

Globally, clouds reflect around 50 watts per square meter of short-wave solar radiation back into space, cooling the Earth by around 12 C-change, an effect largely caused by stratocumulus clouds.

The stratiform group is divided by altitude range into the genera cirrostratus (high-level), altostratus (mid-level), stratus (low-level), and nimbostratus (multi-level).