Comparison of atmospheric boundary-layer structures over land and ocean as observed by ARM ground-based and space-based lidar measurements
Poster PDF
Authors
Tao Luo — University of Wyoming
Zhien Wang — University of Colorado
Damao Zhang — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Category
Atmospheric State & Surface
Description
Boundary-layer processes are important in climate, weather, and air quality. A better understanding of the structure and behavior of the atmospheric boundary layer is required for understanding and modeling of the chemistry and dynamics of the atmosphere on all scales. With ARM Climate Research Facility micropulse lidar (MPL) and radiosonde measurements, we developed and evaluated a lidar-based method to determine the height of the boundary layer and mixing layer. In this paper, the diurnal and season cycles of atmospheric boundary-layer depth and vertical structure over land and ocean are compared based on measurements at the Tropical Western Pacific (TWP) C2 site and the Southern Great Plains (SGP) site. The new method is also applied to satellite lidar measurements to derive an atmospheric boundary-layer structure database. Results will illustrate that combined ground and satellite measurements offer a more complete view of the temporal and spatial variations of the atmospheric boundary layer.
