Articles | Volume 26, issue 10
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-6951-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-6951-2026
Research article
 | 
22 May 2026
Research article |  | 22 May 2026

Toward less subjective metrics for quantifying the shape and organization of clouds

Thomas D. DeWitt, Timothy J. Garrett, and Karlie N. Rees

Data sets

Reproducibility code for "Toward less subjective metrics for quantifying the shape and organization of clouds" Thomas D. DeWitt https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15844056

Model code and software

objscale: Object-based analysis functions for fractal dimensions and size distributions Thomas D. DeWitt https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16114656

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Short summary
Clouds appear chaotic, but they in fact follow fractal mathematical patterns similar to coastlines. We measured their fractal properties using satellite images and found two key numbers that describe cloud shapes: one for how rough individual cloud edges are, and another for how clouds of different sizes organize together. We recommend methodology that provides objective ways to verify whether climate models accurately simulate real clouds.
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