Atmospheric boundary-layer structure from simultaneous SODAR, RASS, and ceilometer measurements

A comparison of the determination of boundary-layer structures by a SODAR, by a RASS, and by a ceilometer is presented. One important structure is the mixing-layer height (MLH). The comparison is focused on 3 days with an evolution of a convective boundary layer over a larger city in Germany. The three instruments give information that partly agree and partly complement each other. By this, a picture of the diurnal evolution of the vertical structure of this urban boundary layer is presented. The ceilometer gives information on the aerosol content of the air and the RASS provides a direct measurement of the vertical temperature distribution in the boundary layer. The RASS and the ceilometer add information on the moisture structure of the boundary layer that is not detected by the SODAR. On the other hand this comparison validates known techniques by which the MLH is derived from SODAR data. Especially the temperature information from the RASS agrees well with lifted inversions derived from the analysis of the SODAR data. The ceilometer, being the smallest instrument, has a potential to be used in future MLH studies.

[1]  R. Rogers,et al.  Quantitative Interpretation of Laser Ceilometer Intensity Profiles , 1997 .

[2]  R. Coulter,et al.  A Comparison of Three Methods for Measuring Mixing-Layer Height , 1979 .

[3]  R. A. Silverman,et al.  Wave Propagation in a Turbulent Medium , 1961 .

[4]  Stefan Emeis,et al.  Observation of aerosol in the mixing layer by a ground-based lidar ceilometer , 2003, SPIE Remote Sensing.

[5]  J. Keder.  Detection of Inversions and Mixing Height by REMTECH PA2 Sodar in Comparison with Collocated Radiosonde Measurements , 1999 .

[6]  F. Beyrich,et al.  Mixing height estimation from sodar data — A critical discussion☆ , 1997 .

[7]  Pcs Devara,et al.  Intercomparison of Nocturnal Lower-Atmospheric Structure Observed with Lidar and Sodar Techniques at Pune, India , 1995 .

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

[9]  E. Westwater.  Remote sensing of tropospheric temperature and water vapor by integrated observing systems : The remote sensing lecture , 1997 .

[10]  Maria Tombrou,et al.  The Importance of Mixing Height in Characterising Pollution Levels from Aerosol Optical Thickness Derived by Satellite , 2002 .

[11]  K. E. Moore,et al.  Boundary Layer Clouds and Vegetation–Atmosphere Feedbacks , 2001 .

[12]  H. S. Sandhu,et al.  Seasonal mixing heights and inversions at Edmonton, Alberta , 1994 .

[13]  M. A. Lokoshchenko.  Long-Term Sodar Observations in Moscow and a New Approach to Potential Mixing Determination by Radiosonde Data , 2002 .

[14]  Stefan Emeis.  Meteorologie in Stichworten , 2000 .

[15]  P. Samson,et al.  Comparison of Methods for Estimating Mixing Height Used during the 1992 Atlanta Field Intensive , 1995 .

[16]  M. Williams,et al.  An analysis of the frequency distribution of sodar derived mixing heights classified by atmospheric stability , 1982 .

[17]  J. Bösenberg,et al.  Laser remote sensing of the planetary boundary layer , 2002 .

[18]  Ulrich Görsdorf,et al.  Composing the diurnal cycle of mixing height from simultaneous sodar and wind profiler measurements , 1995 .

[19]  J. C. Kaimal,et al.  A Continuous Wave Sonic Anemometer-Thermometer , 1963 .

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