Research

Speaker: Dr. Zhaoxia Pu - Professor of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Utah

The Cold Fog Amongst Complex Terrain (CFACT) project is a field campaign and science project dedicated to investigating the life cycle of cold fog in mountain valleys. The overarching goals of the CFACT project are to 1) investigate the lifecycle of cold-fog events over complex terrain with the latest observation technology, 2) improve microphysical parameterizations and visibility algorithms used in NWP models, and 3) develop data assimilation and analysis methods for current and next-generation NWP models. The CFACT field campaign took place in Heber Valley, Utah, during January and February 2022, with support from NSF’s Lower Atmospheric Observing Facilities (managed by NCAR’s EOL). This talk summarizes the CFACT field campaign, its observations, and challenges during the field campaign, including real-time fog prediction issues with NWP models and future analysis.