Advective, orographic and radiation fog in the Tarapacá region, Chile

A project in northern Chile was undertaken to determine the origin and behaviour of fog in the coastal and inland locations of the Tarapacá Region. In the Pampa del Tamarugal, 50 km from the sea, conditions exist for the formation of radiation fog. Advective fog has been studied on the coast and orographic fog was observed at a few coastal sites near mountain ranges with elevations above 1000 m. Fog water collected by two standard fog collectors (SFC) for 3 1/2 years showed an average flux of 8.5 l m⁻² day⁻¹ on the coast and 1.1 l m⁻² day⁻¹ inland 12 km from the coastline. On only a few days in 10 months was water collected at the inland site of Pampa del Tamarugal. GOES satellite images are shown to illustrate the pattern of formation of the stratocumuli cloud over the sea, its approach to the coastline, the entrance of fog by corridors through the coastal range and the presence of radiation fog inland. The results are important for the understanding of fog formation and dissipation along the coastal mountain range and for the recognition of potential sites for the installation of fog water collectors, which can be used as a water source in the Atacama Desert. The results also provide vital information for use in the preservation of the unique ecosystems of the most arid desert of the world.     

The implementation of fog water collection systems in South Africa

Two fog water collection systems (FWCS) have been implemented in South Africa. Both are located in areas where communities experience acute water shortages but which are prone to frequent fog episodes. The first was located at a high elevation site at the Tshanowa Junior Primary (JP) School in the Soutpansberg located in the Northern Province and the other near a small rural community at Lepelfontein along the West Coast. The former represents a mountainous site, while the latter is located on a low level coastal plain. The principal aim of the projects was to implement operational FWCSs to supply the communities with water. During the period 1999 to 2001 the total recorded cloud water yields at the Tshanowa JP School and Lepelfontein water collection sites were in the region of 72 422 and 148 691 l, respectively. This is equivalent to just over 2 l m⁻² day⁻¹ at the Tshanowa JP School and 4.6 l m⁻² day⁻¹ at the Lepelfontein site. Despite the relatively low average daily yields recorded, the total water volume collected on a particular day may be considerable. In fact, at both sites the maximum daily yield exceeded 3800 l. Fog deposition accounted for around 25% and 88% of the total water yield measured at the Tshanowa JP School and Lepelfontein sites, respectively. Both experiments indicated that fog water collection holds considerable potential as an alternative water source in the mountainous regions and along the West Coast of South Africa.     

The climate of the coast and fog zone in the Tarapacá Region, Atacama Desert, Chile

In the Atacama Desert, the narrow littoral plain and the adjacent mountain range have a unique climate. This area is locally called the “coastal desert with abundant cloudiness”, and extends from the coastline up to an elevation of 1000 m. The climate is designated as being BWn according to Köppen's Climate Classification as adapted for Chile. In the original classification the acronym (Bn) is used for foggy environments. Toward the east a “normal desert” climate (BW) is found. This is known as one of the most extreme deserts of the world. In the BWn areas there are meteorological differences between low and high elevation zones. The climate of the coastal plains and the mountains is described in this paper in order to show that there is an area where the climate differs from those classified as BWn and BW in the Chilean Climate Classification. This area is located between 650 and 1200 m a.s.l. and contains several fog oases or lomas vegetation, rich in biodiversity and endemism.The weather is warmer near sea level, with an annual average temperature of 18 °C. At high elevation sites like Alto Patache, the temperature decreases at a rate of 0.7 °C for every 100-m increase in altitude. The average annual minimum temperature often approaches 1 °C in winter, while the mean annual temperature range is significant (8.3 °C in Los Cóndores). The mean monthly relative humidity in Alto Patache is over 80%, except during the summer months. During autumn, winter and spring high elevation fog is present in the study area at altitudes ranging from 650 m up to 1060 m, giving annual water yields of 0.8 to 7 L m^− 2 day^− 1. If vegetation is used as an indicator, the foggy zone lies between 650 m a.s.l. and 1200 m a.s.l. About 70% of the mountain range experiences the foggy climate, as opposed to the coastal plains that are characterized by a cloudy climate.     

Temporal characteristics and fog water collection during summer in Tenerife (Canary Islands, Spain)

The study of fog dynamics in the island of Tenerife began in 1993 at six sites. The analysis of the relationship between fog and several meteorological parameters was conducted at the site located at Anaga. Anaga is located at the summit of a mountain range, at an altitude of 842 m and 3.5 km away from the north-western coastline of the island. The study uses hourly data of the three summer months (June, July and August) that were collected over a period of nine years — from 1996 to 2005. The mean summer (June–August) rainfall was found to be 21.2 mm whilst the total volume of fog water collected was 879.9 l m^− 2; the daily average fog water collection was 9.5 l m^− 2 day^− 1, and the hourly average about 0.4 l m^− 2 h^− 1. Although these amounts were recorded with wind speeds of between 8 and 12 m s^− 1, the correlation between water collected and wind speed is not statistically significant. In spite of this, the volume of fog water collected and wind speed showed a very distinct daily behavioural pattern, their frequency and speed reaching their minimum at 12 a.m. and their maximum from 7 p.m. to 8 a.m. GMT. The importance of this research is that it shows that the fog in the Canary Islands occurs more frequently and makes a more significant contribution to the growth of vegetation in the summer (the dry season) than in the winter, when fog accompanies rainfall.     

Ion fluxes from fog and rain to an agricultural and a forest ecosystem in Europe

The deposition fluxes of inorganic compounds dissolved in fog and rain were quantified for two different ecosystems in Europe. The fogwater deposition fluxes were measured by employing the eddy covariance method. The site in Switzerland that lies within an agricultural area surrounded by the Jura mountains and the Alps is often exposed to radiation fog. At the German mountain forest ecosystem, on the other hand, advection fog occurs most frequently. At the Swiss site, fogwater deposition fluxes of the dominant components SO₄²⁻ (0.027 mg S m⁻² day⁻¹), NO₃⁻ (0.030 mg N m⁻² day⁻¹) and NH₄⁺ (0.060 mg N m⁻² day⁻¹) were estimated to be <5% of the measured wet deposition (0.85, 0.70 and 1.34 mg m⁻² day⁻¹, respectively). The corresponding fluxes at the forest site (0.62, 0.82 and 1.16 mg m⁻² day⁻¹, respectively) were of the same order of magnitude as wet deposition (1.04, 1.01 and 1.36 mg m⁻² day⁻¹), illustrating the importance of fog (or occult) deposition. Trajectory analyses at the forest site indicate significantly higher fogwater concentrations of all major ions if air originated from the east (i.e. the Czech Republic), which is in close agreement with earlier studies.     

Changes of cloud water chemical composition in the Western Sudety Mountains, Poland

The changing chemical composition of cloud water and precipitation in the Western Sudety Mountains are discussed against the background of air-pollution changes in the Black Triangle since the 1980s until September 2004. A marked reduction of sulphur dioxide emissions between the early 1990's and the present (from almost 2 million tons to around 0.2 million tons) has been observed, with a substantial decline of sulphate and hydrogen concentration in cloud water (SO₄²⁻ from more than 200 to around 70 μmol l^− 1; H⁺ from 150 to 50 μmol l^− 1) and precipitation (SO₄²⁻ from around 80 to 20–30 μmol l^− 1; H⁺ from around 60 to 10–15 μmol l^− 1) samples. At some sites, where fog/cloud becomes the major source of pollutants, deposition hot spots are still observed where, for example, nitrogen deposition can exceed 20 times the relevant critical load. The results show that monitoring of cloud water chemistry can be a sensitive indicator of pollutant emissions.     

Exploring fog as a supplementary water source in Namibia

Namibia is an arid country where many rural and urban centres depend on ephemeral rivers for their water supply. These water sources are, however, limited and display seasonal salinisation. Fog occurs along the coast and extends for some distance inland, and it could be used as a source of drinking water. Data on groundwater salinisation and fog deposition were collected at villages of the indigenous communities and at the Gobabeb Training and Research Centre (GTRC) in the Central Namib Desert. Fog collection experiments were done with Standard Fog Collectors (SFCs) and 1-m² fog collectors made from the Raschel mesh that is used in SFCs from 1996 onwards. The results indicate that fog occurs throughout the year and that it has low major ion concentrations (chemical composition). The period of high fog deposition coincides with that of high groundwater salinity and would suit mixing of the two waters to provide water of good drinking quality to people in these areas. In conclusion, fog is a viable source of water in the Namib and could supplement traditional sources in rural settlements and perhaps also in urban water supply schemes in this region as in other parts of the world where it is used as a source of drinking water.

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Fog measurements at the site “Falda Verde” north of Chañaral compared with other fog stations of Chile

Fog collection data registered through a Standard Fog Collector (SFC) installed by a local fishermen's association at a height of 600 m at the “Falda Verde” site, north of the Chilean harbor Chañaral (26°17′S/70°36′W), from November 1998 to November 2000, are analyzed. Trying to give new lights on the dynamics of fog along the Chilean northern coast, this article compares, for the first time, the data obtained at Falda Verde with those obtained at five other Chilean fog stations. The total time period runs from 1987 to 2001. A mean of 1.46 l/m²/day was registered at the Falda Verde site after 2 years of measurements, one of the lowest yields along the north Chilean coast. After a brief historical recapitulation of fog researches in the study area, geographical explanations of the water yields obtained in different sites are discussed. The annual mean collection from Cerro Moreno and Paposo shows a clearly different behavior from all other sites, showing a greater stability throughout the year. Other stations have a marked difference between extreme seasons. Alto Patache yields, if not the best in Chile, are very high and offer unexpected possibilities for future applications in the coast. Stations located away from the seashore (Cerro Guatalaya) are clearly less productive. Ocean proximity, altitude, south and southwest orientations of the coastal ranges and local relief explain some of the differences noted.     

Fog and rain water chemistry at Mt. Fuji: A case study during the September 2002 campaign

Measurements of fog and rain water chemistry at the summit of Mt. Fuji, the highest peak in Japan, as well as at Tarobo, the ESE slope of Mt. Fuji in September 2002. The pH of fog and rain water sampled at Mt. Fuji varied over a range of 4.0–6.8. Acidic fogs (pH < 5.0) were observed at the summit when the air mass came from the industrial regions on the Asian continent. The ratio of [SO₄²⁻]/[NO₃⁻] in the fog water was lower at Tarobo than at the summit. High concentrations of Na⁺ and Cl⁻ were determined in the rain water sampled at the summit, possibly because of the long-range transport of sea-salt particles raised by a typhoon through the middle troposphere. The vertical transport of sea-salt particles would influence the cloud microphysical properties in the middle troposphere. Significant loss of Mg²⁺ was seen in the rain water at the summit. The concentrations of peroxides in the fog and rain water were relatively large (10–105 μM). The potential capacity for SO₂ oxidation seems to be strong from summer to early autumn at Mt. Fuji. The fog water peroxide concentrations displayed diurnal variability. The peroxide concentrations in the nighttime were significantly higher than those in the daytime.     

Pollutant concentrations in fog and low cloud water at selected sites of the Czech Republic

In this paper, the basic composition of fog and low cloud water are presented, resulting from the analyses of water samples from 111 fog/cloud events. The samples were collected at five sites located in various regions of the Czech Republic. Two sampling sites are in mountainous regions and three sites represent various urban areas. The mountain stations are located in two regions of the Czech Republic with different industry types. At all the sites, active fog collectors were employed. In the water samples, the conductivity, acidity (pH), cations (H⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, NH₄⁺, Mg²⁺, Ca²⁺) and anions (F⁻, Cl⁻, NO₃⁻, SO₄²⁻) were determined.A mean pH value of about 4.5 was obtained at mountain sites whereas the measurements in urban areas showed mean pH values from 4.9 to 6.4. The mean conductivity values in the samples from the two mountain stations were 137 and 191.5 μS cm⁻¹. The samples from urban sites showed mean values between 127.7 and 654.4 μS cm⁻¹. The maximum concentration means for the three dominant pollutants (expressed by the ratio mountain sites/urban sites) are 32.9/99.6 mg l⁻¹ for NO₃⁻, 32.5/192.9 mg l⁻¹ for SO₄²⁻ and 18.5/52.7 mg l⁻¹ for NH₄⁺. As expected, we found higher ion concentrations in the northern part of the Czech Republic where larger numbers of lignite-burning power plants, chemical factories and opencast lignite mines are located. A decrease in ion concentrations was observed at higher altitude sites, probably reflecting at least in part higher liquid water contents at these locations.     

Estimation of fog deposition on epiphytic bryophytes in a subtropical montane forest ecosystem in northeastern Taiwan

The fog meteorology, fog chemistry and fog deposition on epiphytic bryophytes were investigated from July 2000 to June 2001 in the Yuanyang Lake forest ecosystem. The elevation of the site ranges from 1650 to 2420 m, at which the high frequency of fog occurrence throughout the year has been thought to be of benefit to the establishment of the primary Taiwan yellow cypress forest [Chamaecyparis obtusa var. formosana (Hayata) Rehder] and to the extensive growth of the epiphytic bryophytes. A weather station including a visibility sensor and an active fog collector was installed for fog meteorological and chemical study. The fog deposition rate on epiphytic bryophytes was estimated by measuring the increase rate in plant weight when exposed to fog. Average fog duration of 4.7 and 11.0 h per day was measured in summer months (June to August) and the rest of the year, respectively. November 2000 was the foggiest month in which the average fog duration reached 14.9 h per day. The ionic composition of fog water revealed that the area was less polluted than expected from literature data. The in situ exposure experiments done with the dominant epiphytic bryophytes showed an average fog deposition rate of 0.63 g H₂O g⁻¹ d. w. h⁻¹, which approximated 0.17 mm h⁻¹ at the stand scale. The nutrient fluxes estimated for February 2001 showed that for all ions, more than 50% of the ecosystem input was through fog deposition. These results demonstrate the importance of epiphytic bryophytes and fog deposition in nutrient cycling of this subtropical montane forest ecosystem. The incorporation of fog study in the long-term ecosystem research projects is necessary in this area.     

Trends in fog frequencies in the Los Angeles Basin

Data from throughout the Los Angeles area were examined to determine the horizontal distribution of dense fog (visibility < 400 m) in the region and trends over time. The relationship between the occurrence of dense fog to the phase of two atmosphere–ocean cycles: the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) measured by the PDO Index and the Southern Oscillation measured by the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) was investigated. In addition, the influence of the urban heat island and the amount of suspended particulate matter were assessed. For the three stations that had 22 or more years of data, we examined trends and the relation to atmosphere–ocean cycles. Results show a decrease in the occurrence of very low visibilities (< 400 m) at the stations in close proximity to the Pacific Ocean, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Long Beach International Airport (LGB). Occurrence of the frequency of low visibilities at these two locations was also highly correlated with the phase of the PDO. Only a weak, non-statistically significant relationship was seen with the SOI. At Burbank, a reporting station about 30 km from the ocean, no trends were noted, and there was no evidence of a correlation with either the PDO Index or the SOI. In the Los Angeles Central Business District (CBD) when comparing dense fog occurrence in the early 1960s to a similar period in the early 2000s we saw a decrease in dense fog from a mean of 10 h per year to a mean of 3 h per year. Also contributing to the decrease was decreasing particulate pollution and increased urban warming. A downward trend in particulate concentrations coupled with an upward trend in urban temperatures were associated with a decrease in dense fog occurrence at both LAX and LGB. These trends were evident for the period 1966–1997, but appear to have ended by the late 1990s.     

An economical optical cloud/fog detector

A new, relatively low cost instrument has been developed to detect the presence of fog or cloud for fog/cloud sampling applications. The instrument uses attenuation of an 880 nm light emitting diode signal to detect cloud/fog drops in the optical path between a sending and receiving arm. Laboratory and field testing under a variety of conditions and fog types were carried out to determine the ability of the optical fog detector (OFD) to accurately detect cloud/fog presence as well as to provide some measure of liquid water content. Results indicated that the OFD provided a reliable estimate of fog presence as well as a reasonable estimate of liquid water content (LWC) under several different conditions. The OFD does appear to have an interference from rain, resulting in an overestimation of LWC during rainfall. This may occasionally give a false positive indication of fog presence.     

Cloud contribution to the daily and annual radiation budget in a mountainous valley

An automated-ventilated radiation station has been set up in a mountainous valley at the Logan Airport in northern Utah, USA, since mid-1995, to evaluate the daily and annual radiation budget components, and develop an algorithm to study cloudiness and its contribution to the daily and annual radiation. This radiation station (composed of pyranometers, pyrgeometers and a net radiometer) provides continuous measurements of downward and upward shortwave, longwave and net radiation throughout the year. The surface temperature and pressure, the 2-m air temperature and humidity, precipitation, and wind at this station were also measured. A heated rain gauge provided precipitation information. Using air temperature and moisture and measured downward longwave (atmospheric) radiation, appropriate formula (among four approaches) was chosen for computation of cloudless-skies atmospheric emissivity. Considering the additional longwave radiation during the cloudy skies coming from the cloud in the waveband which the gaseous emission lacks (from 8–13 μm), an algorithm was developed which provides continuous 20-min cloud information (cloud base height, cloud base temperature, percent of skies covered by cloud, and cloud contribution to the radiation budget) over the area during day and night. On the partly-cloudy day of 3 February, 2003, for instance, cloud contributed 1.34 MJ m^− 2 d^− 1 out of 26.92 MJ m^− 2 d^− 1 to the daily atmospheric radiation. On the overcast day of 18 December, 2003, this contribution was 5.77 MJ m^− 2 d^− 1 out of 29.38 MJ m^− 2 d^− 1. The same contribution for the year 2003 amounted to 402.85 MJ m^− 2 y^− 1 out of 9976.08 MJ m^− 2 y^− 1. Observations (fog which yielded a zero cloud base height and satellite cloud imaging data) throughout the year confirmed the validity of the computed data. The nearby Bowen ratio station provided the downward radiation and net radiation data. If necessary, these data could be substituted for the missing data at the radiation station. While the automated surface observing systems (ASOS) ceilometer at the Logan airport provides only the overhead cloud information, the proposed algorithm provides this information over the valley. The proposed algorithm is a promising approach for evaluation of the cloud base temperature, cloud base height, percent of skies covered by cloud, and cloud contribution to the daily and annual radiation budget at local and regional scales.     

Particulate contribution to extinction of visible radiation: Pollution, haze, and fog

A data set acquired by eight particle-dedicated instruments set up on the SIRTA (Site Instrumental de Recherche par Télédétection Atmosphérique, which is French for Instrumented Site for Atmospheric Remote Sensing Research) during the ParisFog field campaign are exploited to document microphysical properties of particles contributing to extinction of visible radiation in variable situations. The study focuses on a 48-hour period when atmospheric conditions are highly variable: relative humidity changes between 50 and 100%, visibility ranges between 65 and 35 000 m, the site is either downwind the Paris area either under maritime influence. A dense and homogeneous fog formed during the night by radiative cooling. In 6 h, visibility decreased down from 30 000 m in the clear-sky regime to 65 m within the fog, because of advected urban pollution (factor 3 to 4 in visibility reduction), aerosol hydration (factor 20) and aerosol activation (factor 6). Computations of aerosol optical properties, based on Mie theory, show that extinction in clear-sky regime is due equally to the ultrafine modes and to the accumulation mode. Extinction by haze is due to hydrated aerosol particles distributed in the accumulation mode, defined by a geometric mean diameter of 0.6 μm and a geometric standard deviation of 1.4. These hydrated aerosol particles still contribute by 20 ± 10% to extinction in the fog. The complementary extinction is due to fog droplets distributed around the geometric mean diameter of 3.2 μm with a geometric standard deviation of 1.5 during the first fog development stage. The study also shows that the experimental set-up could not count all fog droplets during the second and third fog development stages.     

Optical attenuation in fog at a wavelength of 1.55 micrometers

As part of a series of studies on laser propagation for terrestrial free space optical (FSO) telecommunications or laser telecommunications, an experiment was conducted to determine the relationship between visibility in fog and optical attenuation (dB/km) at a laser wavelength of 1.55 μm. In the telecommunications industry, a semi-empirical equation, called the Kruse formula [Kruse, P.W., McGlauchlin, L., McQuistan, R.B., 1962. Elements of infrared technology: generation, transmission, and detection. John Wiley and Sons, New York] is typically used to calculate expected attenuation for a given meteorological visibility. The Kruse formula, however, was developed to relate meteorological visibility to optical attenuation over wavelengths from the visible to the near infrared (IR), and for dust and small particle aerosols with dimensions much smaller than the wavelength. Typically, suspended small aerosols have diameters that average about 0.1 μm while fog droplets have diameters that range upward from 2.5 μm with mean diameters that exceed 10 μm in some fogs. Therefore, application of the Kruse formula to attenuation in fog is not appropriate since fogs consist mainly of particles much larger than the laser wavelength. As part of the experiment, a transmissometer with an 85-m baseline and a dynamic range of 60 dB operated for thirteen months in an area prone to radiation fog. A commercial visibility sensor, similar to those used at airports, was located near the middle of the optical path of the transmissometer and operated over the same period. The largest attenuation measured at this site was just over 300 dB/km, corresponding to a visibility of 32 m. The key finding of the study is that the generally accepted Kruse formula relating visibility and optical attenuation may be too pessimistic at low visibilities, and actual attenuation values for a given visibility may be more than 20% lower than previously thought. At visibilities exceeding about 650 m, the Kruse formula gives a good estimate of optical attenuation.     

Numerical simulation of the relationship between electrification and microphysics in the prelightning stage of thunderstorms

To further investigate the influence of cloud base temperature, updraft velocity and precipitation particle constitution on cloud electrification, five thunderstorms in various regions of China were simulated by using the three-dimensional compressible hailstorm numerical model including inductive and non-inductive charging mechanisms. The results indicate that changes of cloud base temperature have an influence on the initial electrification. Comparison of the above cases shows that in the case of warm cloud base and moderate updraft velocity (< 20 m s^{−  1}), active electrification occurred below the − 10 °C level before moving upward to the − 20 °C level. In contrast, when cloud base is cold and updraft velocity is intensive, the main charging region is at the − 20 °C or even higher level. In that case, the vertical extent of the main negative charge region becomes larger with the increase of cloud base temperature. Apart from the main dipolar or tripolar charge structure, some smaller charge regions with relatively high values of charge density may also appear. Frozen drops, originating mainly from supercooled raindrops, mainly get electrified through charging interactions with snow at or below the − 20 °C level. They are responsible for the negative charge region near the melting level at the initial stage of precipitation if there is a large supercooled raindrop content. Non-inductive charging during hail-snow collisions is rather weak, resulting in the charge density on hail of no more than − 0.01 nC m^− 3.     

Statistical analysis of microphysical properties and the parameterization of effective radius of warm clouds in Beijing area

In this paper warm cloud microphysical parameters including cloud droplet number concentration (N_c), liquid water content (q_l) and effective radius (r_e) from 75 flights around the Beijing area during 2005 and 2006 are summarized. Average N_c (cm^− 3) for Cu, Sc, Ac, As and Ns are 376 ± 290, 257 ± 226, 147 ± 112, 60 ± 35 and 60 ± 84, respectively. Many records of high N_c above 1000 cm^− 3 are observed. The large standard deviations indicate a large variation of N_c and q_l in this region. The maxima of q_l reach 1.4 g m^− 3 in Cu and 1.0 g m^− 3 in Sc, respectively. Different parameterizations of effective radius are examined with the in-situ data in this area. There are different ways to obtain the prefactor representing the relationship between effective radius and mean volume radius. Significant systematic errors are found to be at the large sizes when the prefactor is expressed with relative dispersion under the Gamma Distribution. Fixed prefactor of 1, which was widely used, even produces much larger error. A prefactor of 1.22 is found to be better than the former two methods by fitting with the observed data. The effective radius is further parameterized as functions of mean volume radius, liquid water content and cloud droplet number concentration. We suggest that the effective radius can be parameterized as r_e,p ≈ 1.20r_v + 0.22–1.28/r_v², which is a practical and more accurate scheme without too much computation complexity.     

Temporal and spatial variations of fog in the Western Sudety Mts., Poland

The ridges of the Western Sudety are well exposed to the humid maritime air masses that are mainly associated with westerly atmospheric circulation. Fog is the most frequently observed atmospheric phenomenon, being present on average 45% of the time, with 250–300 days with fog per year. This study on temporal variation of fog in both daily and annual cycles is based on 30 years of measurements (1961–1990) made on Mt. Szrenica at 1362 m a.s.l.Based on the data from 51 meteorological stations and the results of fog deposition field measurements, a digital model of fog frequency in the Western Sudety was prepared using a Geographic Information System. The model shows that altitude is not the only important factor controlling fog frequency. Such parameters as slope aspect and position of a particular site in relation to local and regional morphology are also of crucial importance.     

A satellite-based climatology of fog and low-level stratus in Germany and adjacent areas

A 10-year fog climatology of Germany and adjacent areas, based on NOAA-Advanced Very High-Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) data, is presented. Maximum fog frequency is obtained for the Lake Constance area; minimum fog occurrence, accounting for basins and river valleys, is located in the Lower Rhine area. This is a transition zone between coastal advection fog and the more continental radiation fog of the lower mountain range. Fog persistence is estimated by a comparison of night and day maps. Using the bispectral approach of Nakajima and Nakajima [J. Atmos. Sci. 52, (1995) 4043], the potential of weather satellite data for climatologies of fog's optical and microphysical properties is examined. Maps of fog optical depth, effective radius and liquid water path (LWP) are computed from well-illuminated noon images and the resulting data set is statistically evaluated. Typical features of advection fog are obtained for the coastal areas of the North and Baltic Seas, while the fog of the pre-Alpine basins reveals characteristics of continental radiation fog. The results are in general accordance with field observations of various sources.