Adam Wilson

从飞机舷窗俯瞰欧洲上空的云层。摄于2009年7月。基于15年卫星云图的研究数据显示，云层可以用于地面环境监测。

摘要：天上浮云包含着多少有关地上生物的信息？科学家研究过去15年的卫星云图，发现云层分布情况可以帮助预测地面动植物的分布，进而有助于物种保育和环境监测。

After countless years of daydreamers being told otherwise, there’s now a good reason to keep your head in the clouds. Scientists combed through satellite photographs of cloud cover taken twice a day for 15 years from nearly every square kilometer of Earth to study the planet’s varied environments.

Adam Wilson

从飞机舷窗俯瞰加勒比海的云层。摄于2009年5月。这片云层和中美洲热带雨林上空的云层有显著差异，显示出地球不同生态系统之间的强烈对比。

By creating cloud atlases, the researchers were able to better predict the location of plants and animals on land with unprecedented spatial resolution, allowing them to study certain species, including those that are often in remote places. The results were published last week in PLOS Biology.

Clouds directly affect local climates, causing differences in soil moisture and available sunlight that drive photosynthesis and ecosystem productivity.

The researchers demonstrated the potential for modeling species distribution by studying the Montane woodcreeper, a South American bird, and the King Protea, a South African shrub.

Adam Wilson

哥斯达黎加热带雨林上空的云层。

“In thinking about conserving biodiversity, one of the most important scientific questions is ‘Where are the species?’” said Adam Wilson, an ecologist at the University at Buffalo, who led the study. The maps also could help monitor ecosystem changes.

For cloud-gazing, you can download the data: earthenv.org/cloud.html