scholarly journals Analyzing the turbulence in the Planetary Boundary Layer by the synergic use of remote sensing systems: Doppler wind lidar and aerosol elastic lidar

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregori de Arruda Moreira ◽  
Juan Luís Guerrero-Rascado ◽  
Jose Antonio Benavent-Oltra ◽  
Pablo Ortiz-Amezcua ◽  
Roberto Román ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Weather Forecasting ◽  
Saharan Dust ◽  
Aerosol Layer ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Sensing Systems ◽  
Turbulent Characteristics ◽  
Remote Sensing Systems

Abstract. The Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) is the lowermost region of troposphere and endowed with turbulent characteristics, which can have mechanical or thermodynamic origins. Such behavior gives to this layer great importance, mainly in studies about pollutant dispersion and weather forecasting. However, the instruments usually applied in studies about turbulence in the PBL have limitations in spatial resolution (anemometer towers) or temporal resolution (aircrafts). In this study we propose the synergetic use of remote sensing systems (microwave radiometer [MWR], Doppler lidar [DL] and elastic lidar [EL]) to analyze the PBL behavior. Furthermore, we show how some meteorological variables such as air temperature, aerosol number density, vertical wind, relative humidity and net radiation might influence the PBL dynamic. The statistical moments of the high frequency distributions of the vertical velocity, derived from DL and of the backscattered coefficient derived from EL, are corrected by two methodologies, namely first lag and −2/3 correction. The corrected profiles present small differences when compare against the uncorrected profiles, showing low influence of noise and the viability of the proposed methodology. Two case studies were analyzed in detail, one corresponding to a well-defined PBL and another one corresponding to a situation with presence of a Saharan dust lofted aerosol layer and clouds. In both cases the results provided by the different instruments are complementary, thus the synergistic use of the different systems allow us performing a detailed monitoring of the PBL.

scholarly journals Analyzing the turbulent planetary boundary layer by remote sensing systems: the Doppler wind lidar, aerosol elastic lidar and microwave radiometer

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (2) ◽  
pp. 1263-1280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregori de Arruda Moreira ◽  
Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado ◽  
Jose A. Benavent-Oltra ◽  
Pablo Ortiz-Amezcua ◽  
Roberto Román ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Latin American ◽  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Aerosol Layer ◽  
Sensing Systems ◽  
Turbulent Characteristics ◽  
Remote Sensing Systems ◽  
Influence Of Noise

Abstract. The planetary boundary layer (PBL) is the lowermost region of troposphere and is endowed with turbulent characteristics, which can have mechanical and/or thermodynamic origins. This behavior gives this layer great importance, mainly in studies about pollutant dispersion and weather forecasting. However, the instruments usually applied in studies of turbulence in the PBL have limitations in spatial resolution (anemometer towers) or temporal resolution (instrumentation aboard an aircraft). Ground-based remote sensing, both active and passive, offers an alternative for studying the PBL. In this study we show the capabilities of combining different remote sensing systems (microwave radiometer – MWR, Doppler lidar – DL – and elastic lidar – EL) for retrieving a detailed picture on the PBL turbulent features. The statistical moments of the high frequency distributions of the vertical wind velocity, derived from DL, and of the backscattered coefficient, derived from EL, are corrected by two methodologies, namely first lag correction and -2/3 law correction. The corrected profiles, obtained from DL data, present small differences when compared with the uncorrected profiles, showing the low influence of noise and the viability of the proposed methodology. Concerning EL, in addition to analyzing the influence of noise, we explore the use of different wavelengths that usually include EL systems operated in extended networks, like the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET), Latin American Lidar Network (LALINET), NASA Micro-Pulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) or Skyradiometer Network (SKYNET). In this way we want to show the feasibility of extending the capability of existing monitoring networks without strong investments or changes in their measurements protocols. Two case studies were analyzed in detail, one corresponding to a well-defined PBL and another corresponding to a situation with presence of a Saharan dust lofted aerosol layer and clouds. In both cases we discuss results provided by the different instruments showing their complementarity and the precautions to be applied in the data interpretation. Our study shows that the use of EL at 532 nm requires a careful correction of the signal using the first lag time correction in order to get reliable turbulence information on the PBL.

scholarly journals Studying turbulence by remote sensing systems during slope-2016 campaign

2018 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
pp. 06010
Author(s):  
Gregori de A. Moreira ◽  
Juan L. Guerrero-Rascado ◽  
Jose A. Benavent-Oltra ◽  
Pablo Ortiz-Amezcua ◽  
Roberto Róman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Passive Microwave ◽  
Doppler Lidar ◽  
Sensing Systems ◽  
Remote Sensing Systems ◽  
Lowermost Part

The Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) is the lowermost part of the troposphere. In this work, we analysed some high order moments and PBL height detected continuously by three remote sensing systems: an elastic lidar, a Doppler lidar and a passive Microwave Radiometer, during the SLOPE-2016 campaign, which was held in Granada from May to August 2016. This study confirms the feasibility of these systems for the characterization of the PBL, helping us to justify and understand its behaviour along the day.

scholarly journals A new methodology for PBL height estimations based on lidar depolarization measurements: analysis and comparison against MWR and WRF model-based results

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 6839-6851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda ◽  
Gregori de Arruda Moreira ◽  
Francisco Navas-Guzmán ◽  
María José Granados-Muñoz ◽  
Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Weather Prediction ◽  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Saharan Dust ◽  
Aerosol Layer ◽  
Night Time ◽  
Signal Ratio ◽  
Lidar Measurements

Abstract. The automatic and non-supervised detection of the planetary boundary layer height (zPBL) by means of lidar measurements was widely investigated during the last several years. Despite considerable advances, the experimental detection still presents difficulties such as advected aerosol layers coupled to the planetary boundary layer (PBL) which usually produces an overestimation of the zPBL. To improve the detection of the zPBL in these complex atmospheric situations, we present a new algorithm, called POLARIS (PBL height estimation based on lidar depolarisation). POLARIS applies the wavelet covariance transform (WCT) to the range-corrected signal (RCS) and to the perpendicular-to-parallel signal ratio (δ) profiles. Different candidates for zPBL are chosen and the selection is done based on the WCT applied to the RCS and δ. We use two ChArMEx (Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment) campaigns with lidar and microwave radiometer (MWR) measurements, conducted in 2012 and 2013, for the POLARIS' adjustment and validation. POLARIS improves the zPBL detection compared to previous methods based on lidar measurements, especially when an aerosol layer is coupled to the PBL. We also compare the zPBL provided by the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical weather prediction (NWP) model with respect to the zPBL determined with POLARIS and the MWR under Saharan dust events. WRF underestimates the zPBL during daytime but agrees with the MWR during night-time. The zPBL provided by WRF shows a better temporal evolution compared to the MWR during daytime than during night-time.

scholarly journals Comparison Among the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Height Estimated From Three Different Tracers

2020 ◽  
Vol 237 ◽  
pp. 03009
Author(s):  
Gregori de Arruda Moreira ◽  
Fábio Juliano da Silva Lopes ◽  
Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado ◽  
Pablo Ortiz-Amezcua ◽  
Alberto Cazorla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Microwave Radiometer ◽  
Doppler Lidar ◽  
Boundary Layer Height ◽  
Sensing Systems ◽  
Remote Sensing Systems ◽  
Lowermost Part ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer Height

The Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) is the lowermost part of the troposphere. In this work, we analysed the combination of ABL height estimated continuously by three different remote sensing systems: a ceilometer, a Doppler lidar and a passive Microwave Radiometer, during a summer campaign, which was held in Granada from June to August 2016. This study demonstrates as the combined utilization of remote sensing systems, based on different tracers, can provide detailed information about the height of ABL and their sublayers.

Definitions of Attributes for Limb-Scanning or Limb-Imaging Remote Sensing Systems.

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. D. Lockwood ◽  
D. Hardin ◽  
G. J. Miller ◽  
C. Meesuk ◽  
P. R. Straus
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Sensing Systems ◽  
Remote Sensing Systems

scholarly journals Estimating Daytime Planetary Boundary Layer Heights over a Valley from Rawinsonde Observations at a Nearby Airport: An Application to the Page Valley in Virginia, United States

2016 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
pp. 791-809 ◽  
Author(s):  
Temple R. Lee ◽  
Stephan F. J. De Wekker
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Planetary Boundary Layer ◽  
Weather Forecasting ◽  
Wrf Model ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Weather Research And Forecasting ◽  
Dispersion Modeling ◽  
Blue Ridge Mountains ◽  
Terrain Following ◽  
Regional Reanalysis

AbstractThe planetary boundary layer (PBL) height is an essential parameter required for many applications, including weather forecasting and dispersion modeling for air quality. Estimates of PBL height are not easily available and often come from twice-daily rawinsonde observations at airports, typically at 0000 and 1200 UTC. Questions often arise regarding the applicability of PBL heights retrieved from these twice-daily observations to surrounding locations. Obtaining this information requires knowledge of the spatial variability of PBL heights. This knowledge is particularly limited in regions with mountainous terrain. The goal of this study is to develop a method for estimating daytime PBL heights in the Page Valley, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. The approach includes using 1) rawinsonde observations from the nearest sounding station [Dulles Airport (IAD)], which is located 90 km northeast of the Page Valley, 2) North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) output, and 3) simulations with the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model. When selecting days on which PBL heights from NARR compare well to PBL heights determined from the IAD soundings, it is found that PBL heights are higher (on the order of 200–400 m) over the Page Valley than at IAD and that these differences are typically larger in summer than in winter. WRF simulations indicate that larger sensible heat fluxes and terrain-following characteristics of PBL height both contribute to PBL heights being higher over the Page Valley than at IAD.

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