Routine planetary boundary layer (PBL) height value-added product (VAP) development using radiosonde measurements
Authors
Chitra Sivaraman — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Sally A. McFarlane — U.S. Department of Energy
Tami Fairless — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Michael Jensen — Brookhaven National Laboratory
Category
Atmospheric State & Surface
Description
Planetary boundary-layer (PBL) depth is important to a wide range of atmospheric processes including cloud formation, aerosol mixing and transport, and chemical mixing and transport. Errors in the determination of the PBL height in models can significantly impact the formation and maintenance of low-level clouds. Therefore the Cloud-Aerosol-Precipitation Interactions (CAPI) working group has approved development of a PBL Height value-added product (VAP).
Numerous instruments and algorithms have been used for PBL height detection, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The PBL Height VAP will be developed in a phased approach in which we start with relatively simple algorithms and successively add new instruments and algorithms. In the first phase, development will focus on implementation of methods for PBL height detection using radiosondes, ceilometers, and micropulse lidars, as these instruments exist at all ARM sites.
The poster will present results of PBL height determination from radiosonde measurements using several techniques, including examination of potential temperature gradients and critical thresholds of the bulk Richardson number. Additionally, the results from the Liu and Lang (2010) method of identifying the status (convective, stable, and residual) of the boundary layer will also be presented.