Recently, a China-made unmanned ship for cloud and sea fog observation has embarked on its first long-duration voyage in the Huanghai Sea. Its navigating 110 nautical miles so far for 16 hours testifies that it is capable of widespread meteorological and hydrological observation. 

The unmanned ship carries out long-duration experiment Credits: CMA Meteorological Observation Centre

Actually, coastal areas are characterized by volatile climate conditions and frequent occurrence of natural disasters. Among them, a severe sea fog exerts a huge impact on human activity. Current sea fog observation stations in China are located near the coast, with a detection range of only a few kilometers. Now, the unmanned ship can expand the observation range to 180 nautical miles (330 km) from the coast.

Onboard the vessel, a multi-band sea cloud and fog observation instrument is equipped for meteorological observation of multiple factors like cloud height, cloud cover, sea fog, visibility, sea surface temperature, and sea salt, as well as for synergistic observation together with meteorological satellites of a wider coverage and a higher accuracy.

Editor: LIU Shuqiao