Atmospheric Boundary Layer Characterization Using Multiyear Ground-Based Microwave Radiometric Observations Over a Tropical Coastal Station

The continuous ground-based microwave radiometer profiler (MRP) observations of lower atmospheric temperature and humidity profiles are used to investigate the diurnal evolution of atmospheric boundary layer height (BLH) over a tropical coastal station. The BLH estimated from the MRP observations is compared with concurrent and collocated measurements of mixing layer height using a Micropulse Lidar and the BLH derived from radiosonde ascends. The monthly mean diurnal variation of the BLH derived from the multiyear (2010–2013) MRP observations exhibits strong diurnal variation with the highest around the local afternoon (~12:00–15:00 IST) and the lowest during the nighttime (~100–200 m). The daytime convective BLH is maximum during the premonsoon season (March–May) with the peak value (~1300 m) occurring in April and minimum in the month of July (~600 m). This paper presents the potential of MRP observations to investigate the continuous diurnal evolution of the BLH over a tropical coastal region manifested by a thermal internal boundary layer (TIBL) at much better time resolution, which is essential for understanding the rapid growth of the boundary layer and the TIBL during the forenoon period.

[1]  K. Rajeev,et al.  Altitude distribution of aerosols over Southeast Arabian Sea coast during pre-monsoon season: Elevated layers, long-range transport and atmospheric radiative heating , 2010 .

[2]  Charles Henry Brian Priestley,et al.  Turbulent Transfer in the Lower Atmosphere , 1959 .

[3]  Renmin Yuan,et al.  Lidar-based remote sensing of atmospheric boundary layer height over land and ocean , 2013 .

[4]  Jens Wickert,et al.  Using CHAMP radio occultation data to determine the top altitude of the Planetary Boundary Layer , 2005 .

[5]  J. R. Garratt,et al.  The stably stratified internal boundary layer for steady and diurnally varying offshore flow , 1987 .

[6]  R. Stull.  An Introduction to Boundary Layer Meteorology , 1988 .

[7]  S. Crewell,et al.  Boundary layer observations in West Africa using a novel microwave radiometer , 2007 .

[8]  Petra Seibert,et al.  Review and intercomparison of operational methods for the determination of the mixing height , 2000 .

[9]  K. Krishna Moorthy,et al.  Microwave radiometer observations of interannual water vapor variability and vertical structure over a tropical station , 2015 .

[10]  George C. Holzworth,et al.  ESTIMATES OF MEAN MAXIMUM MIXING DEPTHS IN THE CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES , 1964 .

[11]  Randolph Ware,et al.  Effect of off-zenith observations on reducing the impact of precipitation on ground-based microwave radiometer measurement accuracy , 2014 .

[12]  Domenico Cimini,et al.  Mixing layer height retrievals by multichannel microwave radiometer observations , 2013 .

[13]  B. Grisogono,et al.  The critical bulk Richardson number in urban areas: verification and application in a numerical weather prediction model , 2006 .

[14]  K. Krishna Moorthy,et al.  Microwave Radiometric Observation of a Waterspout Over Coastal Arabian Sea , 2013, IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Letters.

[15]  T. Hewison,et al.  Microwave Radiometer Performance Assessment V1.0 Radiometrics Mp3000 Microwave Radiometer Performance Assessment Contents , 2003 .

[16]  F. Beyrich,et al.  Mixing-height estimation in the convective boundary layer using sodar data , 1995 .

[17]  Yong Han,et al.  Analysis and improvement of tipping calibration for ground-based microwave radiometers , 2000, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote. Sens..

[18]  J. Güldner,et al.  Remote Sensing of the Thermodynamic State of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer by Ground-Based Microwave Radiometry , 2001 .