Coastal Fog, Climate Change, and the Environment

Abstract

Coastal marine fog, a characteristic feature of climates generated at the eastern boundaries of ocean basins worldwide, evokes different feelings in those who experience it (see Figure 1). Authors and poets use fog to represent mystery, bleakness, and confusion. Film directors seek out fog to shroud scenes in eerie gloominess. Tourists visiting beaches bemoan the cool and damp conditions that create a striking contrast to the sunny warm conditions typically found less than a few kilometers inland. Airline passengers delayed by fog impatiently wait for the skies to clear. Residents get used to the Sun “rising” in midday after fog dissipates.

GOES‐derived fog and low cloud indices for coastal north and central California ecological analyses

“…FLCC patterns result from multiple interacting factors across multiple scales [ Koračin et al , ; Torregrosa et al , ]. Recent work that quantified the connections between annual FLCC frequencies, sea surface temperature (SST), North Pacific high‐pressure fields, inland temperature gradients, and other factors for the purpose of incorporating stratocumulus‐forming processes into a regional climate model (RCM) at a 10 km scale shows promise [ O ' Brien , ; O ' Brien et al , ].…”

“…The second group of six locations was selected for pixel‐based time series analysis. Each pixel location corresponds to a colocation site where various fog‐related research projects are being conducted [ Torregrosa et al , ].…”

“…This study focuses on fog and low clouds (FLCs) of marine origin, the most common cloud type in coastal California during the seasonally arid Mediterranean climate summer months (June–September) [ Palmer , ; Leipper , ; Pilié et al , ; Koračin et al , ; Torregrosa et al , ]. The product of this study is a suite of FLC indices that simplify a complex phenomenon by providing a spatiotemporally coherent data set of fog and low cloud cover (FLCC).…”

Reindeer Vision Explains the Benefits of a Glowing Nose

“…Currently, we know of only one luminescent nose in the reindeer population, but its advantages suggest that it could be passed on to future generations of reindeer. On the other hand, the frequency of foggy weather is decreasing worldwide due to climate changes [13], which may make the benefits of a glowing red nose less important in the future. A different hypothesis suggests that Rudolph's red nose is infected with nasal parasites and simply red and swollen [14].…”

Daily variability of California coastal low cloudiness: A balancing act between stability and subsidence

“…Endemic and iconic species along coastal California, e.g., bishop pines and coastal redwoods, are dependent on low stratus and fog, especially during times of drought [Baguskas et al, 2014;Johnstone and Dawson, 2010]. These and other coastal impacts motivate the need for improved short-and long-term predictions of coastal low clouds [Torregrosa et al, 2014].…”