Nuerical simulations of fog events in the Namib region (NaFoLiCa-M)

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Andreas Bott
• Subject Area: Physical Geography ; Atmospheric Science
• Term: from 2016 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 282017876

In the coastal desert Namib in southern Africa, the occurrence of fog is of great importance not only for the ecological system, but also for the production of potable water by means of fog water collectors. To enable the construction of economic fog water collection systems, detailed knowledge of the spatio-temporal development of fog events is inevitable. Due to the complex topographical structure in the Namib area, this knowledge can only be achieved by means of numerical simulations.The major goal of the present project consists in the development of the three-dimensional numerical fog model COSMO-FOG. This development will be based on the mesoscale weather prediction model COSMO. For the numerical simulations of fog events in the Namib region it will be of particular importance to consider in COSMO-FOG the special topographical situation in the investigation area (Atlantic ocean, coastal desert, Great Escarpment) so that realistic simulations of the different fog events in this area, \ie advection fog, radiation fog, lowering stratus, will be possible. The proposed project is part of a package consisting of three single projects, that is the present project (NaFoLiCa-M), field measurements (NaFoLiCa-F) as well as the analysis of fog events by means of remote sensing systems (NaFoLiCa-S). With these three projects it will be possible to obtain comprehensive knowledge about the spatio-temporal evolution of fog in the Namib region which is of great importance for a successful and efficient use of fog water.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants