Geoinformatics in Mapping of Fog-Affected Areas over Northern India and Development of Ion Based Fog Dispersion Technique

Abstract

Fog is a phenomenon that affects the Indo-Gangetic Plains every year during winter season (December–January). This fog is sometimes in the form of radiation fog and other also occurs as a mixture with other gases, known as smog (smoke + fog). There are various factors contributing to the formation of fog, that may be either meteorological, topographical or resulting from pollution. Fog has been mapped for the winter seasons of the years 2002–2016. In these winter seasons, fog affected areas were found to be changing significantly. The net cover of fog during a season varies in space, time intensity and frequency of occurrence. Presently, it is now possible to map and to predict fog formation to some extent. However, so far it has not been possible to disperse fog, though theoretically it has been discussed in literature. In the current work, experiments were conducted to find out the possibility and effectiveness of a negative air ionizer for fog dispersion. The experiments were carried out with fog, dhoop smoke and a mixture of both to generate smog. Two different glass chambers of different sizes were used in a closed room and the impact of air ionizer on dispersion was studied by testing the time taken for dispersion with or without the ionizer. The results show a significant performance with air ionizer indicating the effectiveness of the ion generator, which reduced the time taken for dispersion (in comparison to without ionizer) by about half.