Fog as a fresh-water resource: overview and perspectives.
The collection of fog water is a simple and sustainable technology to obtain fresh water for afforestation, gardening, and as a drinking water source for human and animal consumption. In regions where fresh water is sparse and fog frequently occurs, it is feasible to set up a passive mesh system for fog water collection. The mesh is directly exposed to the atmosphere, and the foggy air is pushed through the mesh by the wind. Fog droplets are deposited on the mesh, combine to form larger droplets, and run down passing into a storage tank. Fog water collection rates vary dramatically from site to site but yearly averages from 3 to 10 l m(-2) of mesh per day are typical of operational projects. The scope of this article is to review fog collection projects worldwide, to analyze factors of success, and to evaluate the prospects of this technology.
Climatology Working Group, University of Münster, Robert-Koch-Str. 26, 48149, Münster, Germany. otto.klemm@uni-muenster.de
Otto
O
Klemm
Robert S
RS
Schemenauer
Anne
A
Lummerich
Pilar
P
Cereceda
Victoria
V
Marzol
David
D
Corell
Johan
J
van Heerden
Dirk
D
Reinhard
Tseggai
T
Gherezghiher
Jana
J
Olivier
Pablo
P
Osses
Jamal
J
Sarsour
Ernst
E
Frost
María J
MJ
Estrela
José A
JA
Valiente
Gebregiorgis Mussie
GM
Fessehaye
D000818:Animals; D002980:Climate; D005618:Fresh Water; D006801:Humans; D011891:Rain; D014881:Water Supply; D014887:Weather