The Characteristics of Marine Fog Offshore Newfoundland and Labrador

Marine fog is very extensive on the Grand Banks offshore of Newfoundland and Labrador. During May through August, depending on the year, it can occur 50% of the time and continuously cover large areas for days. However, there have been very few studies of this fog since the pioneering work of G.I. Taylor (1917) who used kites flown from a whaling vessel during a 6-month field campaign. The formation/dissipation mechanisms are poorly understood, and the visibility forecasts are inadequate. This is despite the fact that such fogs significantly affect shipping, fishing, and oil and gas sector activities in this area. The climatology of the fogs, and a conceptual model of their formation will be discussed using measurements from specially instrumented buoys and offshore platforms. Recent unique cloud microphysical measurements will be compared with similar observations made elsewhere in the world. Some suggestions for parameterizations for Numerical Weather Prediction models will be made addressing the challenge of developing accurate forecasting techniques for this relatively thin boundary layer cloud.