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Fog is a visible aerosol consisting of tiny water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. [1] [2] Fog can be considered a type of low-lying cloud usually resembling stratus and is heavily influenced by nearby bodies of water, topography, and wind conditions.
With sufficient humidity in the cooler layer, fog is typically present below the inversion cap. An inversion is also produced whenever radiation from the surface of the earth exceeds the amount of radiation received from the sun, which commonly occurs at night, or during the winter when the sun is very low in the sky.
Eventually, the droplets become large enough that they fall to the earth as precipitation. The collision-coalescence process does not make up a significant part of cloud formation, as water droplets have a relatively high surface tension. In addition, the occurrence of collision-coalescence is closely related to entrainment-mixing processes. [29]
Fog is commonly considered a surface-based cloud layer. [21] The fog may form at surface level in clear air or it may be the result of a very low stratus cloud subsiding to ground or sea level. Conversely, low stratiform clouds result when advection fog is lifted above surface level during breezy conditions.
Sea of fog riding the coastal marine layer through the Golden Gate Bridge at San Francisco, California Afternoon smog within a coastal marine layer in West Los Angeles. A marine layer is an air mass that develops over the surface of a large body of water, such as an ocean or large lake, in the presence of a temperature inversion.
Thus, any energy that enters a system but does not leave must be retained within the system. So, the amount of energy retained on Earth (in Earth's climate system) is governed by an equation: [change in Earth's energy] = [energy arriving] − [energy leaving]. Energy arrives in the form of absorbed solar radiation (ASR). Energy leaves as ...
Climate experts warn San Francisco's iconic fog is disappearing... and fast. U.C. Berkeley professor explains why this is happening and what can be done to stop it.
Fog can also occur preceding a warm frontal passage. Clearing and warming is usually rapid after frontal passage. Clearing and warming is usually rapid after frontal passage. If the warm air mass is unstable, thunderstorms may be embedded among the stratiform clouds ahead of the front, and after frontal passage thundershowers may still continue.