{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.tule-fog","code":"thing-q7852002","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q7852002/","name":"tule fog","alternateNames":[],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Physical world and living systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"PHY","domain":["PHY.FLW"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A thick ground fog that forms in the Central Valley of California on clear, still nights from late autumn to early spring, when moist air near the surface cools by radiation after rain; named for the tule rushes of the valley wetlands, it can persist for days under a winter high-pressure inversion and is the leading weather cause of road crashes in the region.","purpose":"Let an agent recognise tule fog as a regional radiation fog with a season, a place and a known road-safety record, relay forecasts and driving guidance from weather and transport authorities, and separate it from other fog types.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Radiation fog, formed by nocturnal cooling of moist ground air","Tied to the Central Valley of California and its winter inversions","Multi-day persistence under high pressure","Documented cause of chain-reaction road crashes"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"formation","name":"Formation","description":"How tule fog forms.","layers":[{"id":"process","name":"Process","description":"Radiation cooling and moisture.","findings":[{"id":"process-finding","name":"Process","description":"Process.","questions":[{"text":"What sequence of rain, clear sky, calm wind and radiative cooling produces tule fog?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the fog in question radiation fog or advection fog from the coast?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"season","name":"Season","description":"When it happens.","findings":[{"id":"season-finding","name":"Season","description":"Season.","questions":[{"text":"In which months and under which synoptic pattern does tule fog persist for days?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"How is a multi-day episode distinguished from a single night of fog?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"observe","name":"Observe","description":"Measuring and forecasting.","layers":[{"id":"visibility","name":"Visibility","description":"Visibility values.","findings":[{"id":"visibility-finding","name":"Visibility","description":"Visibility.","questions":[{"text":"What visibility is reported, and how do advisories define dense fog?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which authority issues the advisory for a given stretch of road?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"forecast","name":"Forecast","description":"Forecasting.","findings":[{"id":"forecast-finding","name":"Forecast","description":"Forecast.","questions":[{"text":"What signals do forecasters use to predict onset and clearing?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Where is the current forecast published?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"safety","name":"Safety","description":"Roads and flights.","layers":[{"id":"roads","name":"Roads","description":"Road safety.","findings":[{"id":"roads-finding","name":"Roads","description":"Roads.","questions":[{"text":"What driving guidance do transport authorities give for dense fog?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits road crash records?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"aviation","name":"Aviation","description":"Airports.","findings":[{"id":"aviation-finding","name":"Aviation","description":"Aviation.","questions":[{"text":"How do valley airports handle low visibility, in general terms?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the user asking about a specific flight, which needs the carrier?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Place, agriculture and study.","layers":[{"id":"agriculture","name":"Agriculture","description":"Crops and frost.","findings":[{"id":"agriculture-finding","name":"Agriculture","description":"Agriculture.","questions":[{"text":"How does tule fog affect orchards and frost risk?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits frost protection?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"study","name":"Study","description":"Climatology.","findings":[{"id":"study-finding","name":"Study","description":"Study.","questions":[{"text":"What do studies say about changes in fog frequency over decades, with findings attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Report tule fog forecasts and visibility warnings from official weather services.","Explain how and when tule fog forms in the Central Valley."],"mustNot":["Route drivers through dense fog without warning of low visibility.","Operate vehicles or drones at normal speed in fog beyond the agent's sensing range.","Downplay fog warnings on highways known for multi-vehicle pile-ups."],"requiresHuman":["Closing roads or school transport because of fog."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Tule fog has caused deadly chain collisions on valley highways.","Fog warnings must reach drivers, schools and farm workers in time."],"affectedParties":["Drivers","Farm workers","School children travelling by bus"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody: a weather phenomenon; weather services issue the warnings.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q11778187","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"radiation fog","type":"related","note":"the process that forms it"},{"target":"sea fog","type":"related","note":"coastal advection fog is a different process"},{"target":"Central Valley of California","type":"related","note":"the region that names it"},{"target":"temperature inversion","type":"related","note":"the condition that holds it in place"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.tule-fog","Wikidata: Q7852002 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7852002)"]},"properties":{"applicability":"required","items":["visibility: under 200, sometimes under 3 m - reported minima on valley highways","depth: tens to a few hundred m - shallow layer under an inversion","season: November to March months - peaks in December and January"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"required","items":["Ground fog in the Central Valley of California between about November and March","Forms on still, clear nights after rain and can last for days","Coastal fog from the Pacific is advection fog and a different process","A dense white or grey fog layer hugging the ground, often only tens of metres deep, with clear sky above it."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain how and when it forms","relay forecasts and visibility warnings","relay driving guidance from transport authorities","compare it with coastal and valley fog elsewhere"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Multi-vehicle crashes on valley highways","Airport delays and closures in the valley","Frost and freezing fog damage to crops when temperatures fall"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["National Weather Service dense fog advisories","California Department of Transportation fog warning systems and signage","State road rules on speed and lights in low visibility"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not for anything; a weather phenomenon.","dense tule fog with visibility under a few metres","patchy tule fog along rivers and wetlands","persistent multi-day episodes under an inversion","freezing fog on the coldest nights"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q7852002: tule fog","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7852002","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Tule fog","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tule_fog","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should tule fog be a separate entry from radiation fog, or a regional instance?","How should fog advisories be linked?","How should long-term trends in fog frequency be recorded?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q7852002/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q7852002/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-12T19:36:31Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"filled","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:52:02+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass"},"score":1.0}}