Characterizing spatial and temporal patterns of cloud cover and fog inundation for the Northern Channel islands of California

The presence of low-lying stratocumulus clouds and fog has been known to modify biophysical and ecological properties in a variety of ecosystems in different climates. This is especially true for California's Channel Islands, where forests are frequently shaded by low-lying clouds or immersed in fog during warm and dry summer months. Previous studies suggest that clouds strongly modulate forest distributions as well as carbon and water budgets in these semi-arid environments by reducing solar insolation and raising relative humidity and thus reducing evapotranspiration, while also potentially supplying water directly to the landscape from fog-drip. While summertime fog and stratus cover in California's Channel Islands can ameliorate summer drought stress and enhance soil water budgets, they often have different spatial and temporal patterns. These differing patterns and the resulting shifts in relative ecological importance of fog and stratus are understudied. The overall objective of this study is to map spatial and temporal distributions of daytime cloud cover frequency for the California Channel Islands, and to predict probabilities of surface cloud (fog) contact and immersion for these islands. The results of this research are significant for water balance modeling, help explain vegetation patterns on the islands, and better identify locations where native vegetation restoration efforts are likely to be most successful.