Image of the Day: The Truth Behind Niagara Fall's Mist

In 2004, the Niagara Park Commission became concerned that Canadian high-rise hotels were blocking airflow and helping to create higher, thicker plumes of mist that obscured the view for millions of tourists who visit the Fall each year.

Early experiments conducted by consultants seemed to confirm the hypothesis, but now a team of University of Buffalo geologists say that hotels have nothing to do with it. It's temperature.

Specifically, it's the temperature difference between air and water at the falls. According to the new study, the mist plumes are highest in fall and winter, when water temperature is higher than the air temperature.

In late autumn, air temperatures can fall to 40 or 30 degrees Fahrenheit, but the water can often be as high as 60 degrees.

A similar thing happens in winter, when water temperatures remain at a chilly 32 degrees Fahrenheit but the air temperature drops by 20 degrees or more.

The study, led by geologist Marcus Bursik, will be presented at the UB's Environmental and Society Institute Colloquium on April 12.

--Ker Than

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Credit:  University of Buffalo