Fog Engulfs Vancouver

February 28, 2014

Foggy Vancouver 01a z nn1 (2)

Photographer: Doug Farmer 
Summary Authors: Doug Farmer; Jim Foster

This winter, Vancouver, and much of the British Columbia lower mainland has been treated to a warmer than normal January. As the humid air over the relatively warm waters of the Strait of Georgia west of Vancouver, mix with the cooler air from the north and interior areas of BC, a dense, ocean fog develops. In this photo, captured midmorning from one of the high-rise apartment buildings along English Bay, sunlight is seen streaming just above the marine layer. Note the glory at right. These colorful rings form at the antisolar point when sunlight is deflected by minute cloud/fog droplets. As a result, light waves are scattered by the droplets in all directions rather than in a preferred direction. At left-center, part of a cloud bow or fog bow can be seen. Diffraction of sunlight tends to wash out any coloration, so cloud bows are pale in comparison to rainbows. Note that the cloud bow is concentric around the glory.

The snowcapped peak in the top right corner of the photo is Tetrahedron Peak. At 5,705 ft (1,739 m), it’s one of the tallest and most impressive mountains as seen from Vancouver and the lower mainland of British Columbia. Photo taken on January 24, 2014.

Photo Details: Camera: NIKON D300; Lens: 18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6; Focal Length: 18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm); Aperture: f/7.1; Exposure Time: 0.0012 s (1/800); ISO equiv: 200; Software: Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.3 (Windows).  

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