What kind of fog is associated with temperature inversion?

The correct answer is radiation fog, which forms under specific conditions associated with temperature inversion. This phenomenon occurs when a layer of warm air traps cooler air near the ground, often at night. The surface cools rapidly through radiation, causing the moisture in the air close to the ground to condense into tiny water droplets, generating fog.

Radiation fog is most common in valleys and low-lying areas, where cool air settles during the night. As the temperature drops, it can lead to saturation, resulting in visibility reduction due to the suspended water droplets. This process is closely linked to temperature inversion because the warm air aloft inhibits vertical mixing, allowing the cooler, moist air at the surface to remain undisturbed, thus fostering conditions that lead to fog formation.

Understanding the characteristics of radiation fog is essential for recognizing its occurrence in weather patterns. Other types of fog, such as advection fog, sea fog, and steam fog, have different mechanisms of formation and usually involve different temperature and humidity processes, but they do not typically coincide with temperature inversion conditions in the same way that radiation fog does.