Objectives

Given the completion of this lesson, the

student will have attained a knowledge of
Precipitation, types and how it is produced,
visibility, visibility restrictions, visual range,
luminous range, meteorological visibility,
and particles in the air that affect visibility. .
 Visibility
• Visibility is defined as the property of the atmosphere
which determines the ability of an observer to see and
identify prominent objects by day, or lights or lighted
objects by night. A measure of this property is
expressed in units of distance.
American Practical Navigator Volume Two
 Visibility
• Many different things affect visibility.
– Time of day or night.
– Overall cloud cover.
– Particles in the atmosphere that create:
• Fog
• Mist
• Haze
 What Constitutes Visibility
Restrictions:
1. Visibility is reduced by the presence of particles
in the atmosphere, near the earth’s surface.
2. Fog is a cloud at the earth’s surface. Mist is
similar to drizzle but it is an intermediate stage
between fog and haze.
3. Haze consists of fine dust or particles in the air.
Damp haze consists of small water droplets,
smaller and more scattered than light fog.
 What Constitutes Visibility
Restrictions…Cont’d
Radiation fog
1 Forms over low-lying land on clear, calm nights as the
land radiates heat and becomes cooler. It cools the air
immediately above the surface to the dew point and fog
forms.
2 It is often quite shallow and densest at the surface.
3 As the air warms during throughout the day the fog “lifts”
or “burns” off because it can retain the water as vapor
rather than fog.
4. Because the sea does not undergo so much change in
temperature from day to night, radiation fog seldom
forms more than 10 miles offshore.
 Fog
Fog that forms when air is in motion….
– advection fog
 common along the west coast of the United States
 warm moist air moves over a colder surface
 air is cooled to saturation
 Advection Fog…cont’d
1 Forms when warm, moist air blows over a
colder surface and is cooled below its dew
point
2. Most often encountered at sea.
3. May be quite dense and persistent.
4. Dissipates when mixing or warming of the
air rises above the dew point.
 Sea Smoke
1. Cold air flowing over warmer water causes
the air at the water’s surface to cool and
“steam.” Sometimes this can rise several
hundred feet but the sky above may be
clear.
2. It occurs when the air is very cold, so it is
encountered in the high latitudes.
 Sea Smoke…cont’d
Sea smoke (arctic sea smoke) or evaporation
fog or steam fog which is formed when water
vapor is added to air which is much colder than
the vapor's source; most commonly, when very
cold air drifts across relatively warm water.
May be encountered in North Atlantic Ocean
 More Fog Occurrences
Where does fog commonly occur?
In the U.S., heavy fog is more prevalent in coastal
regions than in the center of the continent. Three
major regions stand out as having the most days
with heavy fog:
Pacific Coast
Appalachian Highlands
New England
 Fog “Burn off”
Meteorologists often say that the sun will "burn off" fog as
the day progresses.
While the sun does not actually burn the fog off, it does
play a part in getting rid of the fog by disrupting the fog
forming process:
some sunlight penetrates the layer of fog and warms the ground
and the air near the ground.
The relative humidity of the warmed air is lowered (as warm air
can hold more moisture than cold air.)
The warmer, drier air mixes upwards with the cooler, moister
and and the fog is dissipated, or lifts into a stratus cloud.
 Smog- Ingredients

Ozone, an invisible gas, is not emitted directly into the air, but forms
when nitrogen oxides from fuel combustion and volatile organic
gases from evaporated petroleum products react in the presence of
sunshine. Ozone levels are highest during the warm months when
there is strong sunshine, high temperatures and an inversion layer.
Nitrogen oxides are produced when fossil fuels are burned in motor
vehicles, power plants, furnaces and turbines.
Carbon monoxide is a by-product of combustion that comes almost
entirely from motor vehicles.
Fine particulates, which are emitted directly as smoke and diesel soot
and form in the air out of nitrogen oxides and sulfur oxides, obscure
visibility and can be inhaled deep into the lungs.
 Mist
Mist is a form of precipitation.
It is so slight that you may not notice you’re
getting wet until standing in the mist for a
considerable amount of time.
These tiny “rain-like” droplets of water can
form a curtain, restricting your visibility.
 Mist…cont’d

But what is the difference between mist and fog?

The answer lies in their thickness – and how far we
can see through them (i.e.: the visibility).
If we can see less than 1 mi through the cloud of
water droplets, it is known as fog.
If we can see between 1 and 2 mi, we call it mist.
The droplets in mist are larger, allowing better
visibility.
Haze
 Haze…cont’d

Dry Haze is the result of fine dust or salt particles in

the air.
– These particles are too small to be individually
recognized, but en mass they can reduce
horizontal visibility.
– They give the atmosphere a bluish or yellowish
veil.
 Haze…cont’d

Damp Haze
– Small water droplets, or;
– Hygroscopic particles in the air.
– These particles are smaller and more scattered
than a light fog.
– They cause the same bluish or yellowish type
veil as dry haze, reducing horizontal visibility.
 Measuring Visibility
• Range is measured in units of distance:
– Yards
– Meters
– Feet
– Miles
– Kilometers
• You’re individual situation determines which unit
of measurement you use.
Measuring Visibility…cont’d
• For instance:
– You have a lighthouse on your chart that is 18
miles away. You can see the lighthouse. (it’s
daylight folks.)
• What is your visibility?
– At night, you can’t see the lights on the channel
markers until you are within 100 yards of them.
• What is your visibility?
 Reductions in Visibility
• How far can you see in a sandstorm?
• Particles in the atmosphere near the earth’s
surface reduce visibility.
• These particles could be pollutants, dirt, sand,
water vapor, combinations of these or other
materials.
• The most common is water vapor.
• It produces air quality that hampers our visibility.
 Estimating the Visibility at Sea, by
Day and by Night
• Table 12 of Bowditch gives the distance to
the horizon based on height of eye. If you
are 12 feet above sea level, for example,
your visible horizon is 4.1 miles. Knowing
the distance to the visible horizon can
enable you to estimate objects in relation to
that distance.
 Estimating Visibility
• During daytime: use land or other objects of
which distance is known (radar)
• During nighttime: when lights (ships, buoys or
lighthouses) first become visible, compare
with radar distances to get an idea of the
visibility
Visual Range

• Knowing the visual range of a light is a

great way to measure your immediate
visibility.
• If the visual range of a light is 10 nautical
miles, but you don’t see it until 6 miles:
– Your visibility is 6 miles.
• Let’s look at predicting ranges for lights.
Visual Range

• The visual range of a light is the

predicted range at which a light may be
observed.
• Ranges may be referred to as luminous
range, nominal range or geographic
range.
Visual Range

• Luminous range is the maximum distance a

light can be seen under existing visibility
conditions.
• It is determined combining the known
nominal luminous range, and the current
visibility conditions using the Luminous
Range Diagram.
Visual Range
• Luminous Range Diagram (Light List, page vii).
• Curved lines with circled numbers on Luminous Range diagram
represent ranges of visibility and are defined on the right
margin:
 3 = Light Fog; .27 to .54 mi visibility
 4 = Thin Fog; .54 to 1.1 mi visibility
 5 = Haze; 1.1 to 2.2 mi visibility
 6 = Light Haze; 2.2 to 5.4 mi visibility
 7 = Clear; 5.4 to 11 mi visibility
 8 = Very Clear; 11 to 27 mi visibility
 9 = Exceptionally Clear; over 27 mi visibility
Visual Range
• Locate nominal range of light from chart on the
bottom of diagram.
• Follow up the grid lines to middle of restricted
visibility range.
• Follow grid line to left margin of diagram for
nominal range.
• Example: a light with nominal (charted) range of
13 mi. should only be visible for about 6.5 miles
in light haze. (see next slide)
Visual Range
• This diagram is simplified…
– The real Luminous Range Diagram can be found in the Light List,
page vii and in Bowditch.
Visual Range
• Nominal range is the distance a light can be
seen in clear weather.
• This range is defined by the International
Visibility Code.
– The code gives a meteorological visibility of 10
nautical miles.
Visual Range
• Geographic range is the maximum distance that
the curvature of the earth and refraction allow a
light to be seen.
– Taking into account the height of eye of an observer.
– Without regard to the luminous intensity of a light.
• Geographic range is sometimes printed on charts,
or tabulated in light lists.
– When listed in this manner, the range is from a “height
of eye” of 15 feet.
Visual Range

• Height of Eye
– We’ve mentioned it several times… now let’s
look at the formula!
• The Horizon Distance (distance of
unrestricted visibility) is expressed in
nautical miles,
– from a position above the surface of the earth
– along the line of site to the horizon
Visual Range
• Height of Eye (continued)
• You can pull the distance to the horizon from
Bowditch, Table 8.
– This may not be exact, but gives you a good
reference.
• OR, the distance to the the horizon (D), in nautical
miles, may be calculated by the following:
– D = 1.17 x the square root of (h) [where h is the
height of eye ]
Visual Range
• For example, if your height of eye was 9 feet above
the surface of the water, the formula would be:
• 1.17 times the square root of 9 = Distance to the
horizon in nautical miles.
• 1.17  3 = 3.51 nautical miles
• If you want to calculate the distance at which an
object becomes visible, you must know your height of
eye and the height of the object. You then do the same
calculation for your distance to the horizon and the
object's distance to the horizon and add the distances
together.
Visual Range
• You have the same height of eye of 9 feet so your distance
to the horizon is still 3.51 nautical miles.
• You're approaching a port that has a lighthouse that is
shown on your chart to have a height of 81 feet.
• Using the same formula you would find that 1.17 times the
square root of 81 (1.17  9) = 10.53 nautical miles
• The light house can be seen 10.53 nautical miles over
the horizon.
• By adding the two together: 3.51 + 10.53 = 14.04 nautical
miles, you should be able to see the lighthouse when you
are 14.04 nautical miles away. (in unrestricted visibility)
Estimating Visibility
• During daytime: use land or other objects of
which distance is known (radar)
• During nighttime: when lights (ships, buoys or
lighthouses) first become visible, compare
with radar distances to get an idea of the
visibility
 Summary

• Radiation fog versus evaporation fog versus

advection fog?
• Fog versus smog versus mist?
• Visual range versus luminous range versus
nominal range?
Any Questions?