A history of Arctic mirage

Mirages caused by variations in air temperature have been spotted for centuries.

Seafarers saw castles in the air that reminded them of the crystal castle that King Arthur’s sister lived in. The mirage became known by a Latin name, “fata morgana.”

Wayne Davidson, who has been in Resolute Bay for the past 20 years working at Environment Canada’s weather station, would eventually see one too.

On Nov. 14 2001, he saw Somerset Island, 40 miles away from Resolute, in a “fata morgana” illusion.

“Somerset was risen, up in the sky. It was undeniably happening, a monstrous inversion. It gives Somerset an exaggerated form,” Davidson said. “But it doesn’t happen every day.”

That day, the weather balloon registered a temperature near the ground of -25 C while at 262 metres it was -11.5 C – a large difference in temperature.

Davidson said he finally realized that warm air also played a big role in the refraction effect when an observer from Minnesota sent him a photo taken over Lake Superior in July 2003, which showed a brilliant rectangular sun floating over the water.

“It showed me I was wrong and that warm air inversions give more light than cold air. The more there’s a vast pool of warm air above us, the brighter it will get,” Davidson said. “It was a big breakthrough for me. I’m still a believer in cold air, that it brings more brightness, but warm air traps light and makes the brightness even greater.”