NaFoLi[CA]2: Namib Fog Life Cycle Analysis - Aerosols and Climate

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jan Cermak
• Subject Area: Physical Geography
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 462604610

The proposed project aims to explore the role of aerosol for Namib- region fog and low clouds, quantify the mechanisms driving this system, and estimate its future development. Fog and low clouds are prominent characteristics of the hyper-arid Namib Desert. However, the mechanisms that act together to determine their occurrence and development, as well as the role of seasonally occurring aerosols from biomass burning, have yet to be quantified. For the same reason, no quantitative estimates of the future development of the Namib-region fog/low cloud system exist. In the proposed project, the role of biomass burning aerosols on fog and low-cloud occurrence and its life cycle will be analyzed on the basis of data from passive and active satellite sensors, reanalyses and local ground-based remote sensing and in-situ measurements. Backtrajectories initiated within local aerosol plumes will be used to analyze fog and low cloud patterns within groups of similar dynamic and thermodynamic conditions. The influence of the major determinants of the Namib- region fog/low cloud system will then be quantified using statistical models. On the basis of the relationships identified and captured in these models, future changes in the fog/low-cloud system will be estimated using climate model output to drive the statistical model.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Hendrik Andersen