The vertical structure of fog observed with a lidar system at Misawa Airbase, Japan

Abstract

In order to improve airbase operations, vertical profiles of attenuation coefficients caused by fog are investigated with a mobile lidar system at Misawa Airbase in northern Japan. The results show that, when the ceiling is about 30 m (the decision height at Misawa Airbase), the attenuation coefficient near this level is generally larger than that near the surface. With higher ceilings, attenuation coefficients near the surface tend to be larger than those at the decision height. Moreover, it is shown that the attenuation coefficient in the upper levels increases slightly earlier than that near the surface when the ceiling is lowering; such a situation is frequently observed at Misawa on severe fog days. -Authors