Yale Climate Connections has an interesting story about the importance of the Great Smoky Mountains cloud cover on maintaining the local climate through balancing incoming and outgoing energy. Cloud forests at the tops of the ridges are maintained by dense clouds of microscopic water droplets and other areas benefit from the cloudy and moist conditions as well. One of scientists’ concerns for the future is that in a warmer climate, these clouds may decrease or change character, negatively impacting the ecosystems that depend on those moist and cloudy conditions. You can read more here.
