Effects of Synoptic-Scale Control on Long-Term Declining Trends of Summer Fog Frequency over the Pacific Side of Hokkaido Island

In this study, long-term visibility data for the Pacific Ocean side of Hokkaido Island, northeast Japan, are investigated to clarify the relationship between interannual variation in summer fog frequency (FF) and large-scale circulation patterns. At Kushiro, a significant FF decrease is found during 1931-2010 even without the influence of the observatory's relocation after 2000. In particular, since the late 1970s, a linear declining trend has accelerated, as evidenced by an increased number of years with very low FF in July and August. To clarify the climatological factor causing the summer FF declining trend at Kushiro, atmospheric vertical conditions in the planetary boundary layer and large-scale circulation are examined during 1989-2009 and 1958-2002, respectively, using available datasets. Composite analyses that are based on radiosonde observations reveal that the shallow fog layer is covered with a strong inversion layer during fog days whereas the inversion layer is absent during nonfog days. Composite circulation anomalies for the low-FF years at Kushiro show an intensified Okhotsk high (OH) pressure feature and southward shrinking of the North Pacific high (NPH) in July, in addition to the eastward displacement or shrinking of the NPH in August. These anomalous synoptic circulation patterns cause weakening in the southerly-southeasterly wind, which reduces sea-fog advection toward Kushiro and prevents the formation of stable stratification over the sea-fog layer. The authors suggest that the interannual variation in summer FF with the recent accelerated decline at Kushiro is primarily controlled by changes in the synoptic circulation associated with the OH and NPH development.