Stratus cloud Stratus cloud Stratus clouds are low-level clouds characterized by horizontal layering with a uniform base, as opposed to convective or cumuliform clouds that are formed by rising thermals. More specifically, the term "stratus" is used to describe flat, hazy, featureless clouds of low altitude varying in color from dark gray to nearly white. The word "stratus" comes from the Latin prefix "strato-", meaning "layer". Stratus clouds may produce a light drizzle or a small amount of snow. These clouds are essentially above-ground fog formed either through the lifting of morning fog or through cold air moving at low altitudes over
Sheet erosion some limited unevenness in the sheet flow arising from clods of earth, rock fragments, or vegetation. Sheet erosion occurs in two steps; first rainsplash dislodges small particles of the substrate and then the particles are carried away, usually short distances, by a thin and uniform layer of water known as sheetflow. Transport by the sheetflow is usually small distances meaning sheet erosion is a low magnitude process. However the frequency in time with which the occur may be high, compensating for the small change observed in each individual episode of sheet erosion. A sheetflood can be distinguished from ordinary an