# Wave cloud
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{{Short description|Type of droplet/crystal mass formed by atmospheric oscillations due to gravity}}
[[Image:Wave cloud.jpg|thumb|300 px|That wave cloud pattern formed over the [Île Amsterdam](/source/%C3%8Ele_Amsterdam), in the lower left corner at the tip of the triangular formation, in the far southern [Indian Ocean](/source/Indian_Ocean).]]
A '''wave cloud''' is a [cloud](/source/cloud) form created by atmospheric [internal wave](/source/internal_wave)s.
[[Image:Tadrart01.JPG|thumb|300 px|Wave cloud pattern in [Tadrart](/source/Tadrart_Acacus) region.]]
[[File:AralSea AMO 200907 lrg.jpg|thumb|300 px|Unusual wave clouds over the [Aral Sea](/source/Aral_Sea), seen from NASA's [Water satellite](/source/Water_(satellite)) on March 12, 2009.]]
thumb|300 px|Wave cloud pattern in Germany on August 25, 2020.
300px|thumb|Wave clouds in various directions.
==Formation==
The atmospheric [internal wave](/source/internal_wave)s that form wave clouds are created as stable air flows over a raised land feature such as a [mountain range](/source/mountain_range), and can form either directly above or in the lee of the feature. As an air mass travels through the wave, it undergoes repeated uplift and descent. If there is enough moisture in the atmosphere, clouds will form at the cooled crests of these waves. In the descending part of the wave, those clouds will evaporate due to [adiabatic](/source/adiabatic_process) heating, leading to the characteristic clouded and clear bands. The cloud base on the [leeward](/source/leeward) side is higher than on the windward side, because precipitation on the windward side removes water from the air.[Wallace, John M., Hobbs, Peter V. Atmospheric Science, and Introductory Survey. San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1977.]
It is possible that simple [convection](/source/convection) from mountain summits can also form wave clouds. This occurs as the convection forces a wave or lenticular wave cloud into the more stable air above.[Worthington, R. M. "Lenticular wave cloud above the convective boundary layer of the Rocky Mountains," Weather 57(2002):87–90.]
==Importance==
===Climate modelling===
Wave clouds are typically mid- to upper-tropospheric ice clouds. They are relatively easy to study, because they are quite consistent. As a result, they are being analyzed to increase our understanding of how these upper-level ice clouds influence the Earth's radiation budget. Understanding this can improve climate models.[Baker, B. A., Lawson, R. P. (2006) In Situ Observations of the Microphysical Properties of Wave, Cirrus, and Anvil Clouds. Wave clouds got their name because they look like waves. Part I: Wave Clouds. Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences: Vol. 63, No. 12 pp. 3160–3185]
===Recreation===
The streamlines in these clouds have the steepest slope a few kilometers downwind of the lee slope of a mountain. It is in these regions of highest vertical velocity that [sailplanes](/source/gliding) can reach record-breaking altitudes.[{{cite web|url=https://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/platcol.htm|title=Cloud Crystals - Columns & Plates - Atmospheric Optics|date=16 September 2023 }}] and plates are virtually nonexistent.