Fog Research: A Review of Past Achievements and Future Perspectives

The scientific community that includes meteorologists, physical scientists, engineers, medical doctors, biologists, and environmentalists has shown interest in a better understanding of fog for years because of its effects on, directly or indirectly, the daily life of human beings. The total economic losses associated with the impact of the presence of fog on aviation, marine and land transportation can be comparable to those of tornadoes or, in some cases, winter storms and hurricanes. The number of articles including the word ‘‘fog’’ in Journals of American Meteorological Society alone was found to be about 4700, indicating that there is substantial interest in this subject. In spite of this extensive body of work, our ability to accurately forecast/nowcast fog remains limited due to our incomplete understanding of the fog processes over various time and space scales. Fog processes involve droplet microphysics, aerosol chemistry, radiation, turbulence, large/small-scale dynamics, and surface conditions (e.g., partaining to the presence of ice, snow, liquid, plants, and various types of soil). This review paper summarizes past achievements related to the understanding of fog formation, development and decay, and in this respect, the analysis of observations and the development of forecasting models and remote sensing methods are discussed in detail. Finally, future perspectives for fog-related research are highlighted.