Fog as a fresh-water resource : overview and perspectives

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Authors

Klemm, Otto
Schemenauer, Robert S.
Lummerich, Anne
Cereceda, Pilar
Marzol, Victoria
Corell, David
Van Heerden, Johan
Reinhard, Dirk
Gherezghiher, Tseggai
Olivier, Jana

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Springer

Abstract

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.

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Keywords

Fog collection, Large fog collector, Standard fog collector, Sustainability, Water resource

Sustainable Development Goals

Citation

Klemm, O, Schemenauer, RS, Lummerich, A, Cereceda, P, Marzol, V, Corell, D, Van Heerden, J, Reinhard, D, Gherezghiher, T, Oliver, J, Osses, P, Sarsour, J, Frost, E, Estrela, MJ, Valiente, JA, Fessehaye, GM 2012, 'Fog as a fresh-water resource : overview and perspectives', AMBIO - A Journal of the Human Environment, vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 221-234, doi: 10.1007/s13280-012-0247-8.