Analysis of the Causes of a Low Cloud and Low Visibility Weather at Cangyuan Washan Airport

At 11:00 am on August 5, 2017, Cangyuan Washan Airport experienced low cloud and low visibility weather, accompanied by aircraft turbulence, which affected the normal operation of flights, which was closely related to the meteorological conditions at that time. Using the hourly reanalysis data of the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) Reanalysis 5 (ERA5), including Geopotential height, temperature, precipitation, wind field, specific humidity, vorticity and other elements, with a spatial resolution of 0.25° × 0.25°, this paper focuses on the horizontal distribution and vertical configuration of various physical quantities before and after the occurrence of low cloud and low visibility weather at the airport. The results indicate that the main influencing system of this low cloud and low visibility weather is the westward tropical depression. Before the occurrence of low cloud and low visibility weather, low-level water vapor converges and is accompanied by precipitation. The temperature decreases with precipitation, the near-surface wind direction changes, and the wind speed decreases.

Preliminary study on visual recognition under low visibility conditions caused by artificial dynamic smog

AIM： To quantitatively evaluate the effect of a simulated smog environment on human visual function by psychophysical methods.METHODS： The smog environment was simulated in a 40×40×60 cm3 glass chamber filled with a PM2.5 aerosol, and 14 subjects with normal visual function were examined by psychophysical methods with the foggy smog box placed in front of their eyes. The transmission of light through the smog box, an indication of the percentage concentration of smog, was determined with a luminance meter. Visual function under different smog concentrations was evaluated by the E-visual acuity, crowded E-visual acuity and contrast sensitivity.RESULTS： E-visual acuity, crowded E-visual acuity and contrast sensitivity were all impaired with a decrease in the transmission rate（TR） according to power functions, with invariable exponents of-1.41,-1.62 and-0.7, respectively, and R2 values of 0.99 for E and crowded E-visual acuity, 0.96 for contrast sensitivity. Crowded E-visual acuity decreased faster than E-visual acuity. There was a good correlation between the TR, extinction coefficient and visibility under heavy-smog conditions.CONCLUSION： Increases in smog concentration have a strong effect on visual function.

An Analysis and Modeling Study of a Sea Fog Event over the Yellow and Bohai Seas

In this study, a sea fog event which occurred on 27 March 2005 over the Yellow and Bohai Seas was investigated observationally and numerically. Almost all available observational data were used, including satellite imagery of Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite （GOES）-9, three data sets from station observations at Dandong, Dalian and Qingdao, objectively reanalyzed data of final run analysis （FNL） issued by the National Center for Environmental Prediction （NCEP） and Regional Atmospheric Modeling System （RANIS） results. Synoptic conditions and fog characteristics were analyzed. The fog formed when warm, moist air was advected northwards over the cool water of the Yellow and Bohai Seas, and dissipated when a cold front brought northerly winds and cool, dry air. In order to better understand the fog formation mechanism, a high-resolution RAMS modeling with a 6km×6km grid, initialized and validated by FNL data, was designed. A 48h modeling that started from 12 UTC 26 March 2005 reproduced the main characteristics of this sea fog event. The simulated lower visibility area agreed reasonably well with the sea fog region identified from the satellite imagery. Advection cooling effect seemed to play a significant role in the fog formation.

Analysis of the Microphysical Structure of Heavy Fog Using a Droplet Spectrometer:A Case Study

The microphysical properties of a long-lasting heavy fog event are examined based on the results from a comprehensive field campaign conducted during the winter of 2006 at Pancheng （32.2°N, 118.7°E）, Jiangsu Province, China. It is demonstrated that the key microphysical properties （liquid water content, fog droplet concentration, mean radius and standard deviation） exhibited positive correlations with one another in general, and that the 5-min-average maximum value of fog liquid water content was sometimes greater than 0.5 g m-3. Further analysis shows that the unique combination of positive correlations likely arose from the simultaneous supply of moist air and fog condensation nuclei associated with the advection of warm air, which further led to high liquid water content. High values of liquid water content and droplet concentration conspired to cause low visibility （〈50 m） for a prolonged period of about 40 h. Examination of the microphysical relationships conditioned by the corresponding autoconversion threshold functions shows that the collision-coalescence process was sometimes likely to occur, weakening the positive correlations induced by droplet activation and condensational growth. Statistical analysis shows that the observed droplet size distribution can be described well by the Gamma distribution.

Research on the classification for road traffic visibility based on the characteristics of driving behaviour–a driving simulator experiment

Purpose–The purpose of this paper is to performfine classification of road traffic visibility based on the characteristics of driving behavior under different visibility conditions.Design/methodology/approach–A driving simulator experiment was conducted to collect data of speed and lane position.ANOVA was used to explore the difference in driving behavior under different visibility conditions.Findings–The results show that only average speed is significantly different under different visibility conditions.With the visibility reducing,the average vehicle speed decreases.The road visibility conditions in a straight segment can be divided intofive levels:less than 20,20-30,35-60,60-140 and more than 140 m.The road visibility conditions in a curve segment can be also divided into four levels:less than 20,20-30,35-60 and more than 60 m.Originality/value–Afine classification of road traffic visibility has been performed,and these classifications help to establish more accurate control measures to ensure road traffic safety under low-visibility conditions.