The Growth of the Planetary Boundary Layer at a Coastal Site: a Case Study

2011 ◽  
Vol 139 (3) ◽  
pp. 521-541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ferdinando De Tomasi ◽  
M. Marcello Miglietta ◽  
M. Rita Perrone
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Coastal Site

scholarly journals Ceilometers as planetary boundary layer height detectors and a corrective tool for COSMO and IFS models

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (20) ◽  
pp. 12177-12192
Author(s):  
Leenes Uzan ◽  
Smadar Egert ◽  
Pavel Khain ◽  
Yoav Levi ◽  
Elyakom Vadislavsky ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Transform Method ◽  
Pollution Dispersion ◽  
Boundary Layer Height ◽  
Scale Modeling ◽  
Richardson Method ◽  
Parcel Method

Abstract. The significance of planetary boundary layer (PBL) height detection is apparent in various fields, especially in air pollution dispersion assessments. Numerical weather models produce a high spatial and temporal resolution of PBL heights; however, their performance requires validation. This necessity is addressed here by an array of eight ceilometers; a radiosonde; and two models – the Integrated Forecast System (IFS) global model and COnsortium for Small-scale MOdeling (COSMO) regional model. The ceilometers were analyzed with the wavelet covariance transform method, and the radiosonde and models with the parcel method and the bulk Richardson method. Good agreement for PBL height was found between the ceilometer and the adjacent Bet Dagan radiosonde (33 m a.s.l.) at 11:00 UTC launching time (N=91 d, ME =4 m, RMSE =143 m, R=0.83). The models' estimations were then compared to the ceilometers' results in an additional five diverse regions where only ceilometers operate. A correction tool was established based on the altitude (h) and distance from shoreline (d) of eight ceilometer sites in various climate regions, from the shoreline of Tel Aviv (h=5 m a.s.l., d=0.05 km) to eastern elevated Jerusalem (h=830 m a.s.l., d=53 km) and southern arid Hazerim (h=200 m a.s.l., d=44 km). The tool examined the COSMO PBL height approximations based on the parcel method. Results from a 14 August 2015 case study, between 09:00 and 14:00 UTC, showed the tool decreased the PBL height at the shoreline and in the inner strip of Israel by ∼100 m and increased the elevated sites of Jerusalem and Hazerim up to ∼400 m, and ∼600 m, respectively. Cross-validation revealed good results without Bet Dagan. However, without measurements from Jerusalem, the tool underestimated Jerusalem's PBL height by up to ∼600 m.

scholarly journals Vertical profiles of dust and other aerosol types above a coastal site

2019 ◽  
Vol 99 ◽  
pp. 02005
Author(s):  
Dietrich Althausen ◽  
Silke Mewes ◽  
Birgit Heese ◽  
Julian Hofer ◽  
Yoav Schechner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Spherical Particles ◽  
Vertical Profiles ◽  
Threshold Values ◽  
Small Particles ◽  
Coastal Site ◽  
Lidar Measurements ◽  
Aerosol Types ◽  
Aerosol Type

Monthly mean vertical profiles of aerosol type occurrences are determined from multiwavelength Raman and polarization lidar measurements above Haifa, Israel, in 2017. This contribution presents the applied methods and threshold values. The results are discussed for one example, May 2017. This month shows more often large, non-spherical particles in lofted layers than within the planetary boundary layer. Small particles are observed at higher altitudes only when they are observed in lower altitudes, too.

scholarly journals Near-surface and path-averaged mixing ratios of NO<sub>2</sub> derived from car DOAS zenith-sky and tower DOAS off-axis measurements in Vienna: a case study

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (9) ◽  
pp. 5853-5879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan F. Schreier ◽  
Andreas Richter ◽  
John P. Burrows
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Optical Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Tropospheric No2

Abstract. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), produced as a result of fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning, lightning, and soil emissions, is a key urban and rural tropospheric pollutant. In this case study, ground-based remote sensing has been coupled with the in situ network in Vienna, Austria, to investigate NO2 distributions in the planetary boundary layer. Near-surface and path-averaged NO2 mixing ratios within the metropolitan area of Vienna are estimated from car DOAS (differential optical absorption spectroscopy) zenith-sky and tower DOAS horizon observations. The latter configuration is innovative in the sense that it obtains horizontal measurements at more than a hundred different azimuthal angles – within a 360∘ rotation taking less than half an hour. Spectral measurements were made with a DOAS instrument on nine days in April, September, October, and November 2015 in the zenith-sky mode and on five days in April and May 2016 in the off-axis mode. The analysis of tropospheric NO2 columns from the car measurements and O4 normalized NO2 path averages from the tower observations provide interesting insights into the spatial and temporal NO2 distribution over Vienna. Integrated column amounts of NO2 from both DOAS-type measurements are converted into mixing ratios by different methods. The estimation of near-surface NO2 mixing ratios from car DOAS tropospheric NO2 vertical columns is based on a linear regression analysis including mixing height and other meteorological parameters that affect the dilution and reactivity in the planetary boundary layer – a new approach for such conversion. Path-averaged NO2 mixing ratios are calculated from tower DOAS NO2 slant column densities by taking into account topography and geometry. Overall, lap averages of near-surface NO2 mixing ratios obtained from car DOAS zenith-sky measurements, around a circuit in Vienna, are in the range of 3.8 to 26.1 ppb and in good agreement with values obtained from in situ NO2 measurements for days with wind from the southeast. Path-averaged NO2 mixing ratios at 160 m above the ground as derived from the tower DOAS measurements are between 2.5 and 9 ppb on two selected days with different wind conditions and pollution levels and show similar spatial distribution as seen in the car DOAS zenith-sky observations. We conclude that the application of the two methods to obtain near-surface and path-averaged NO2 mixing ratios is promising for this case study.

scholarly journals Near-surface and path-averaged mixing ratios of NO<sub>2</sub> derived from car DOAS zenith-sky and tower DOAS off-axis measurements in Vienna: a case study

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan F. Schreier ◽  
Andreas Richter ◽  
John P. Burrows
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Optical Absorption Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Surface ◽  
Pollution Levels ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
Tropospheric No2

Abstract. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), produced as a result of fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning, lightning, and soil emissions, is a key urban and rural tropospheric pollutant. In this case study, ground-based remote sensing has been coupled with the in situ network in Vienna, Austria, to investigate NO2 distributions in the planetary boundary layer. Near-surface and path-averaged NO2 mixing ratios within the metropolitan area of Vienna are estimated from car DOAS (Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy) zenith-sky and tower DOAS horizon observations. The latter configuration is innovative in the sense that it obtains horizontal measurements at more than hundred different azimuthal angles – within a 360° rotation taking less than half an hour. Spectral measurements were made with a DOAS instrument on nine days in April, September, October, and November 2015 in the zenith-sky mode and on five days in April and May 2016 in the off-axis mode. The analysis of tropospheric NO2 columns from the car measurements and O4 normalized NO2 path averages from the tower observations provide interesting insights into the spatial and temporal NO2 distribution over Vienna. Integrated column amounts of NO2 from both DOAS-type measurements are converted into mixing ratios by different methods. The estimation of near-surface NO2 mixing ratios from car DOAS tropospheric NO2 vertical columns is based on a linear regression analysis including mixing-height and other meteorological parameters that affect the dilution and reactivity in the planetary boundary layer – a new approach for such conversion. Path-averaged NO2 mixing ratios are calculated from tower DOAS NO2 slant column densities by taking into account topography and geometry. Overall, lap averages of near-surface NO2 mixing ratios obtained from car DOAS zenith-sky measurements, around a circuit in Vienna, are in the range of 3.8 to 26.2 ppb and in good agreement with values obtained from in situ NO2 measurements for days with wind from the Southeast. Path-averaged NO2 mixing ratios at 160 m above the ground as derived from the tower DOAS measurements are between 2.5 and 9 ppb on two selected days with different wind conditions and pollution levels and show similar spatial distribution as seen in the car DOAS zenith-sky observations. We conclude that the application of the two methods to obtain near-surface and path-averaged NO2 mixing ratios is promising for this case study.

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