The research is funded by the US Department of Defense and hopes to better predict one of the most unpredictable weather events: fog. Fog can quickly destroy visibility everywhere, from ports to highways and airports, and can affect weapon systems. But how it is created is not deeply understood, and that is one reason why fog can only be predicted a few hours earlier, if at all. “The forecast is critical because about 50 to 60 people die each year in Canada because of the visibility of fog-related issues,” said Ismail Gultepe, a researcher with the Canadian Department of Environment and Climate Change. Ismail Gultepe is a researcher in the Department of Environment and Climate Change in Canada. (David Laughlin / CBC) The researchers chose to study the wider Grand Banks area in the North Atlantic as it is one of the most foggy places in the summer, along with the Yellow Sea off the coast of China. In 2023, the research study will be transferred to the Yellow Sea. “I would say this is the biggest fog project ever,” said Joe Fernando of Notre Dame University in Indiana, who led the study. He spoke from a hangar at Halifax Stanfield Airport, where more than four tons of atmospheric measuring equipment was being transported to Sable Island, 300 miles southeast of Halifax. Instruments will also be developed from Irving’s offshore supply ship Atlantic Condor, which was chartered for a one-month shipment in July. The ship will cruise from Sable Island to the Grand Banks. “The overall goal of the project is to improve the predictability of sea fog as much as possible. It is very difficult to predict, one of the least predictable in marine meteorology,” Fernando said. Joe Fernando of Notre Dame University is leading the study. (David Laughlin / CBC)
The mystery of the fog
Fog is created when water droplets form around particles, but the interaction of all the atmospheric processes involved is not well understood. “The fog is changing fast and that is the difficulty. It is coming fast, it is leaving fast and we do not know how long it will stay,” Fernando said. The U.S. Naval Research Bureau commissioned the $ 7.5 million study. The data collected is not classified. Fernando said an important element of the study included “directed propagation of the laser beam through the atmosphere so that the targets coming can be canceled by the laser beam”.
Participation of Canada
Dozens of scientists are involved, including Canadian researchers from the Department of Environment and Climate Change Canada, York University, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Marine Environment, Prediction and Response Network, and Dalhousie University at Dalhousie University. The Atlantic Condor will transport instruments from Rachel Chang’s lab. The aerospace scientist in Dalhousie will measure the size and number of particles in the atmosphere and how they affect the visibility and duration of the fog. Rachel Chang is an Associate Professor in the Department of Natural and Atmospheric Science at Dalhousie University. (David Laughlin / CBC) It also studies droplets that form around a salt particle and those that form around the industrial emissions that are ejected into the area. “This is really the heart of what really interests me, is whether the source of the particles – whether they come from the ocean or emissions – and whether that really affects visibility or not.”
Climate change
Ismail Gultepe at the Canadian Ministry of Environment and Climate Change is also investigating the effects of climate change on fogging. The more water vapor is created in the open ocean, the more fog, he said. “That’s why we like to learn how fog survives and how it changes in climatic conditions,” Gultepte said, adding that an important result would be improved modeling for fog forecasting. A hangar appears at Halifax Airport. The atmospheric equipment is being prepared for a flight to Sable Island where it will be installed as part of the field study. (David Laughlin / CBC) The project is known as FATIMA, for the interactions of fog and turbulence in the marine atmosphere. The study will measure wind turbulence, microphysics and fog chemistry, cloud height, water vapor and other conditions. It will use meteorological balloons, radar and didin. The Atlantic Condor will also develop a remote-controlled small boat and glider that will take measurements on the ocean and in the lower atmosphere. MORE TOP STORIES
