Weather You Like it or Not

I would like to start off by talking a little about Whale Island (pictured in the background). This island magically floats high above the town of Trampoli, in the Stratosphere. I have always wondered why when it is raining or snowing on the ground it is still sunny on Whale Island. This is because Whale Island is above the clouds, for this reason, there is no weather in the Stratosphere. This knowledge; however, brings up a new question: How does Reguna (the main character) breathe and survive on the island? And moreover, how can he grow crops up there?

 In a non-magical world, this would be hindered by the ozone layer. Ozone is what protects us from the sun's harmful rays, and is abundant in the Stratosphere. It is made by ultraviolet rays (from solar radiation) hitting an oxygen molecule, separating the two atoms. The atoms then find an in-tact oxygen molecule to attach itself to, therefore creating an ozone molecule. The diagram below explains this:

Photo credit: http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Climate/RadiationBal/img013.gif

An abundance of ozone in the Troposphere can damage lung tissue and plants, the amount of ozone in the Stratosphere would make it physically impossible to breath and grow crops. If the ozone does not get him, the radiation from the sun most defiantly would.

In the Harvest Moon games (the series of games Rune Factory is based off of) there are four very distinct seasons. Snow is on the ground consistently from the first until the last day of winter. Rune Factory is a little different in this aspect, the snow appears on the last day of fall. This is later explained by Whale Island blocking the sun from the town to adsorb its rays on the day that it is the strongest. This information is scientifically incorrect. Snow is simply formed by water droplets falling through the cloud, then being lifted back up multiple times to the point where it is frozen and becomes too heavy to be lifted by the updraft anymore and falls to the ground.. It in fact has nothing to do with a giant island shaped like a while blocking the sun.

Speaking of which, Trampoli is host to a few different types of clouds. The image below shows a stable air mass with cumulonimbus clouds that are dissipating due to the loss of moisture from the rainfall. In the image, you can also see a very clear dew point, which is where the relative humidity in the air is 100% and participation can begin.

                                                         Photo Credit: Rune Factory Frontier. Marvelous Entertainment USA, Inc and XSeed Games.2007 Nintendo

                                                                                 Picture taken by: Tiffany Dubois

This next image shows an unstable air mass. This is clearly seen by the vertical formation of the fair weather cumulus clouds. 

                                                         Photo Credit: Rune Factory Frontier. Marvelous Entertainment USA, Inc and XSeed Games.2007 Nintendo

                                                                                 Picture taken by: Tiffany Dubois