Thornton et al. (2025) The Vertical Development of Fog in the Presence of Turbulent Mixing and Low Stratus Cloud Using Infra-Red Imagery During the SOFOG3D Campaign

⚠️ Warning: This summary was generated from the abstract only, as the full text was not available.

Identification

• Journal: Atmosphere
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-26
• Authors: J. Thornton, J. D. Price, Frédéric Burnet, Julien Delanoe͏̈
• DOI: 10.3390/atmos16121338

Research Groups

Not explicitly stated in the provided text.

Short Summary

This study utilized infra-red camera observations from the SOFOG3D experiment to analyze the dynamics of radiation fog, revealing that turbulent mixing at the fog top is common and significantly influences both the vertical development of existing fog and the formation of very-low-stratus clouds.

Objective

• To analyze the dynamics and evolution of radiation fog in the presence of turbulent-mixing at the fog top.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Local/Regional (observations from the South-west FOGs 3D experiment, SOFOG3D)
• Temporal Scale: Event-based (analysis of multiple radiation-fog cases, likely spanning hours to days per event)

Methodology and Data

• Models used: None mentioned in the provided text.
• Data sources: Infra-red camera observations from the South-west FOGs 3D experiment (SOFOG3D).

Main Results

• Turbulent mixing between the fog and the air above was observed in over 80% of the analyzed radiation-fog cases.
• This mixing often involved sections of fog breaking off and dissipating, or occasionally forming elevated very-low cloud layers.
• Mixing leads to an increase in relative humidity (RH) and enhanced cooling above the fog layer.
• When the RH above the fog approaches saturation, air mixed up from the fog can remain saturated, leading to rapid vertical growth of the fog.
• Turbulent mixing influences cloud coverage by promoting vertical development of existing fog and by 'spawning' very-low-stratus clouds.

Contributions

• Provides observational evidence of the high prevalence and specific mechanisms of turbulent mixing at the top of radiation fog layers.
• Demonstrates the direct impact of this mixing on the vertical development of fog and the formation of very-low-stratus clouds.
• Highlights the critical role of increased relative humidity and enhanced cooling above the fog layer as consequences of turbulent mixing.

Funding

Not mentioned in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Thornton2025Vertical,
  author = {Thornton, J. and Price, J. D. and Burnet, Frédéric and Delanoe͏̈, Julien},
  title = {The Vertical Development of Fog in the Presence of Turbulent Mixing and Low Stratus Cloud Using Infra-Red Imagery During the SOFOG3D Campaign},
  journal = {Atmosphere},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.3390/atmos16121338},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos16121338}
}