CHARACTERISTICS OF QUASI-PERIODIC OSCILLATIONS DURING SEA FOG EVENTS

Based on the high-resolution datasets collected in a sea fog field experiment at the northern coast of South China Sea,the variations of liquid water content (LWC) and net longwave radiation flux (NLRF) during two sea fog events on 16th-17th and 18th-19th March,2008 are exaimeed by wavelet analysis,and the cooling mechanisms for fog formation and persistence are also investigated.The main results are shown as follows.(1) Sea fog may develop and persist whether it is cloudy or not aloft.However,when there is cloud aloft the LWC is less and wind speed in sea fog is higher than that in the clear sky.(2) The quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) of NLRF are observed in the formation stage of the two fogs.QPOs of LWC are only found in the developing stage no matter with cloudless or cloudy condition.(3) It is likely that sea fog forms by the cooling effects of longwave radiation and develops through the vertical mixing induced by the radiative cooling at the upper level.(4) During sea fog development and persistence,other mechanisms could also play important roles in fog-layer cooling,such as turbulent heat transport and radiation transport between air-sea interfaces.