The redwoods, rely on characteristic coastal fog to reach their towering heights—and that fog may be diminishing due to climate change, according to new research
(Scientific America 2015). A study by climatologist James Johnstone and biologist Todd Dawson of the University of California, Berkeley, looked at a combination of weather station and airport data along the northern California coast where coastal redwood trees thrive. Since fog appears as a cloud that moves off the ocean and stays close to the ground, airport monitors of the ceiling height of the clouds were particularly illuminating. The results, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences March 9, 2010, showed that the region's fog has decreased by 30 percent in the past six decades (Scientific America 2015)
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