A Coupled Model Study on the Formation and Dissipation of Sea Fogs (original) (raw)
Related papers
Comparison of advection and steam fogs: From direct observation over the sea
Sea fog occurs frequently over the Yellow Sea in spring and summer, which causes costly or even catastrophic events including property damage, marine accidents, public health and financial losses. Case studies of advection and steam fogs using direct observation over the sea are constructed to better understand their formation, evolution and dissipation. A southerly wind supplies moisture to initiate advection fog events (AFs). Approximately −100 to −200 W m −2 of latent heat flux and −70 W m −2 of sensible heat flux during mature AFs are characterized with stable stratification which maintains dense fog by limiting downward mixing of dryer air. Steam fogs (SFs) develop from flow of cold air over warmer water, but are normally of limited persistence. During the SFs, a northerly wind decreases the air temperature below the sea surface temperature, which increases the relative humidity through evaporation from the warmer ocean. During mature SF, 360 W m −2 of latent heat flux and 150 W m −2 of sensible heat flux are characterized with neutral and unstable atmospheric conditions. The increase in wind speed and wind shear mixes dry air downward to the surface and limits the duration of the SF.
Formation, Evolution, and Dissipation of Coastal Sea Fog
Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 2005
Evolution of sea fog has been investigated using three-dimensional Mesoscale Model 5 (MM5) simulations. The study focused on widespread fog-cloud layers advected along the California coastal waters during 14-16 April 1999. According to analysis of the simulated trajectories, the intensity of air mass modification during this advection significantly depended on whether there were clouds along the trajectories and whether the modification took place over the land or ocean. The air mass, with its trajectory endpoint in the area where the fog was observed and simulated, gradually cooled despite the gradual increase in sea-surface temperature along the trajectory. Modelling results identified cloud-top cooling as a major determinant of marine-layer cooling and turbulence generation along the trajectories. Scale analysis showed that the radiative cooling term in the thermodynamic equation overpowered surface sensible and latent heat fluxes, and entrainment terms in cases of the transformation of marine clouds along the trajectories. Transformation of air masses along the trajectories without clouds and associated cloud-top cooling led to fog-free conditions at the endpoints of the trajectories over the ocean. The final impact on cloud-fog transition was determined by the interaction of synoptic and boundary-layer processes. Dissipation of sea fog was a consequence of a complex interplay between advection, synoptic evolution, and development of local circulations. Movement of the high-pressure system over land induced weakening of the along-shore advection and synoptic-pressure gradients, and allowed development of offshore flows that facilitated fog dissipation.
On Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Sea Fog Occurrence over the Northern Atlantic from 1909 to 2008
In this paper, the International Comprehensive Ocean and Atmosphere Data Set (ICOADS) is utilized to investigate the horizontal distribution of sea fog occurrence frequency over the Northern Atlantic as well as the meteorological and oceanic conditions for sea fog formation. Sea fog over the Northern Atlantic mainly occurs over middle and high latitudes. Sea fog occurrence frequency over the western region of the Northern Atlantic is higher than that over the eastern region. The season for sea fog occurrence over the Northern Atlantic is generally from April to August. When sea fogs occur, the prevailing wind direction in the study area is from southerly to southwesterly and the favorable wind speed is around 8 m s −1. It is most favorable for the formation of sea fogs when sea surface temperature (SST) is 5℃ to 15℃. When SST is higher than 25℃, it is difficult for the air to get saturated, and there is almost no report of sea fog. When sea fogs form, the difference between sea surface temperature and air temperature is mainly −1 to 3℃, and the difference of 0℃ to 2℃ is the most favorable conditions for fog formation. There are two types of sea fogs prevailing in this region: advection cooling fog and advection evaporating fog.
Frontiers in Marine Science, 2022
The Yellow Sea is the most fog-prone region of the East Asian marginal seas. Since sea fog is caused due to complex interactions between atmospheric and oceanic environments, direct observations can help understand the physical processes involved in fogging over the oceans. Completed in 2014, the Socheongcho Ocean Research Station (S-ORS) plays a critical role in monitoring air-sea interactions over the Yellow Sea. This study aimed to evaluate the conditions favorable for fog generation and the physical processes underlying it using a suite of observations and turbulent heat flux data from S-ORS. First, we used the visibility data from S-ORS to quantify the frequency of sea fog over the Yellow Sea. From April to June 2016, sea-fog occurred 61 times, with a maximum duration of 135 h (approximately 5.6 days). Next, to understand the origin and characteristics of air mass associated with fog events, we classified the primary airflow paths in the region using a Hybrid Single-Particle La...
World Marine Fog Analysis Based on 58-years of Ship Observations
International Journal of Climatology, 2019
This study presents the first global-scale comprehensive climatology of marine fog and is based on ICOADS ship present weather observations for the period 1950-2007. In general, the median marine fog occurrence away from the polar oceans is low (0.2%). Substantially greater marine fog occurrences are limited to four regions, not including the polar region. Fog occurrence maxima along the western side of the sub-polar ocean gyre occur during the warm season and over the shelf, which includes one centred over the Northwest Pacific Kuril Islands (60%) and one over the Northwest Atlantic Grand Banks (45%), while a third lies over the Argentinean shelf break. Fog maxima over seven marginal seas occur over the
Remote Sensing, 2021
An observed sea fog event over the Eastern Yellow Sea on 15–16 April 2012 was reproduced in the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) simulation with high-resolution to investigate the roles of physical processes and synoptic-scale flows on advection fog with phase transition. First, it was verified by a satellite-based fog detection algorithm and in situ observation data. In the simulation, longwave (infrared) radiative cooling (LRC) with a downward turbulent sensible heat flux (SHF), due to the turbulence after sunset, triggered cloud formation over the surface when warm-moist air advection occurred. At night, warm air advection with continuous cooling due to longwave radiation and SHF near the surface modulated the change of the SHF from downward to upward, resulting in a drastic increase in the turbulent latent heat flux (LHF) that provided sufficient moisture at the lower atmosphere (self-moistening). This condition represents a transition from cold-sea fog to warm-sea fog. En...
Meteorological Applications, 2006
When high pressure is located near the Korean peninsula, a diffluent wind regime generally occurs over the Yellow Sea. At night or early morning, diffluent westerly winds occur on the western side of the Korean peninsula near Inchon city and encounter a combined land breeze and katabatic easterly offshore wind, resulting in conditions ranging from calm to a moderate westerly wind near the coast. Nocturnal radiational cooling of the land surface and the moisture laden westerly winds can cause air near the coast to become saturated, resulting in coastal advection fog. During the day, on the other hand, the synoptic-scale westerly wind is reinforced by a westerly sea breeze and is further reinforced by a westerly valley wind directed upslope towards the mountain top. Even if the resulting intensified onshore wind could transport a large amount of moisture from the sea over the land, it would be very difficult for fog to form because the daytime heat flux from the ground would develop the convective boundary layer inland from Inchon city sufficiently to reduce significantly the moisture content of the air. Therefore, fog does not generally form in situ over the inland coastal basin. When an area of cold sea water (10 • C average) exists approximately 25-50 km offshore and the sea surface temperature increases towards the coast, air parcels over the cool sea surface are cooled sufficiently to saturation, resulting in the formation of advection sea fog. However, at the coast, nocturnal cooling of the ground further cools the advected moist air driven by the westerly wind and causes coastal advection fog to form.
The characteristics of sea fog with different airflow over the Huanghai Sea in boreal spring
Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2010
Using the observations from ICOADS datasets and contemporaneous NCEP/NCAR reanalysis datasets during 1960-2002, the study classifies the airflows in favor of sea fog over the Huanghai (Yellow) Sea in boreal spring (April-May) with the method of trajectory analysis, and analyzes the changes of proportions of warm and cold sea fogs along different paths of airflow. According to the heat balance equation, we investigate the relationships between the marine meteorological conditions and the proportion of warm and cold sea fog along different airflow paths. The major results are summarized as follows.
Atmospheric Research, 2014
The objective of this review is to discuss physical processes over a wide range of spatial scales that govern the formation, evolution, and dissipation of marine fog. We consider marine fog as the collective combination of fog over the open sea along with coastal sea fog and coastal land fog. The review includes a history of sea fog research, field programs, forecasting methods, and detection of sea fog via satellite observations where similarity in radiative properties of fog top and the underlying sea induce further complexity. The main thrust of the study is to provide insight into causality of fog including its initiation, maintenance, and destruction. The interplay between the various physical processes behind the several stages of marine fog is among the most challenging aspects of the problem. An effort is made to identify this interplay between processes that include the microphysics of fog formation and maintenance, the influence of large-scale circulations and precipitation/clouds, radiation, turbulence (air-sea interaction), and advection. The environmental impact of marine fog is also addressed. The study concludes with an assessment of our current knowledge of the phenomenon, our principal areas of ignorance, and future lines of research that hold promise for advances in our understanding.