A Detailed Study of Advection Sea Fog Formation to Reduce the Operational Impacts Along the Northern Gulf of Mexico

Abstract

This study creates rules of thumb for forecasting advection sea fog development and dissipation along the northern Gulf of Mexico for the months of December through March. Surface observations from Tyndall AFB, Destin- Fort Walton Beach Airport, Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field and Keesler AFB were used in conjunction with the National Data Buoy Center's marine sensors to determine the low-level atmospheric state and the sea surface temperatures during advection sea fog events at the five locations listed above. Forecasting rules of thumb were created and then modified to maximize forecasting effectiveness. The criteria examined include: sea surface temperature, wind speed and direction, air temperature and dewpoint spread, dewpoint and sea surface temperature spread. Data from December 1999 to March 2004 and from December 2005 to March 2006 was used for the Keesler AFB analysis. Data from February 2005 to March 2006 was used for the Tyndall AFB, Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field and Destin-Fort Walton Beach analysis. Missing sea surface temperatures limited the amount of winter time advection sea fog seasons that could be examined.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 2007
Accession Number
ADA467125

Entities

People

  • Jason M. King

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Facilities
  • Air Temperature
  • Aircrafts
  • Airframes
  • Boundary Layer
  • Geography
  • Measurement
  • Meteorology
  • Military Training
  • Rotary Wing Aircraft
  • Sea Surface Temperature
  • Surface Properties
  • Surface Temperature
  • Temperature Gradients
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Warfare

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Climatology
  • Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of Proposed Air Force Base Actions.