Estimation of surface parameters from a 30 metre micro-meteorological tower over a deep moist convective region

The estimation of u*, 0*, q*. and Obukov-length In the surface layer from micro-meteorological tower data still poses an important challange. In the present study a procedure for the parametric estimation has been developed which is consistent both with the similarity relation and the profile relation. The study has been done using both fast response and slow response tower data. Since similarity relations involve a particular level z. so inspite of starting from a layer, the parameters should be attributed to a relations involve a particular level only, It has been suggested that the convenient level is geometric mean height of the layer. The ratio of eddy diffusivities (KhKm.) has been estimated both for stable and unstable situation and this ratio is presented by a single expression which incidentally yields a new value of a constant involved.

A Refined Study of Atmospheric Wind Properties in the Beijing Urban Area Based on a 325 m Meteorological Tower

The urban atmospheric boundary layer (UABL) is complex due to the heterogeneous underlying city surface. The nine anemometers installed at different heights along the 325 m meteorological tower provide an opportunity to carry out a refined study of wind properties in the UABL in central Beijing, China. Based on the recent 5-year high-resolution measured data, in total, 229,488 10-min length segments of wind records related to each anemometer are reliable for further analyses. Accordingly, the statistical properties of the wind speed and direction are first analyzed to present the local wind climate in a comprehensive way. Moreover, the pattern of the wind profiles related to two typical synoptic intense events are illustrated in order to give a preliminary perspective, then the statistical properties corresponding to a series of intense windstorms are described. Here, the deviations in the wind direction occur between 200 m and 280 m of the atmosphere, which might be due to the existence of an Ekman spiral; besides this, the laws of wind profiles based on open terrain are not suitable for the UABL, and the aerodynamic characteristic parameters of the UABL based on vertical stratified structures have to be considered. The results contribute to the establishment of revised models for the wind profile and are useful for the further understanding of the structure of UABL wind.

New flexible retrieval for gusts and mean winds from Doppler wind lidars

<p>Phenomena in the atmospheric boundary layer are investigated in the Field Experiment on Sub-Mesoscale Spatio-Temporal Variability in Lindenberg (FESSTVaL, www.fesstval.de). Our aim is the retrieval of wind gusts from measurements of a Doppler wind lidar (DWL). DWLs allow the determination of wind vector profiles with high vertical resolution (∼30 m) and represent an alternative to classical meteorological tower observations. They can receive signals from altitudes higher than towers and are flexible in positioning. However, the retrieval of wind gusts from DWL measurements is not trivial because a monostatic lidar provides only one radial velocity, i.e., only one component of a three-dimensional vector, and measurements in three linearly independent directions are necessary to derive the wind vector. These have to be performed sequentially which limits the achievable time resolution, while wind gusts are short-lived phenomena. Therefore, we have developed a new wind retrieval that is applicable to different scanning configurations and various requested time resolutions. We tested several DWL configurations in autumn 2019 using DWL systems ’StreamLine’ from Halo Photonics and evaluated gust peaks and the 10min mean wind at 90 m height against data from a sonic anemometer at the meteorological tower. The most useful configuration for retrieving wind gusts is a fast continuous scan mode (CSM) that completes a full circulation cone within 3.4s. During this time interval, about eleven radial velocity measurements are completed. This fast CSM configuration was again successfully operated over a three-months period in summer 2020. We found that CSM paired with our new retrieval technique provides gusts which compare well to classical anemometer measurements from a meteorological tower. Future work includes the application of the new retrieval to DWL data during the FESSTVaL campaign in 2021 when DWL measurements are planned at different sites in order to study the sub-mesoscale variability of wind gusts.</p>

Diurnal Evolution of the Wintertime Boundary Layer in Urban Beijing, China: Insights from Doppler Lidar and a 325-m Meteorological Tower

The diurnal evolution of the atmospheric boundary layer—the lowermost part of the atmosphere where the majority of human activity and meteorological phenomena take place—is described by its depth. Additionally, the boundary layer height (BLH) and the turbulence intensity strongly impact the pollutant diffusion, especially during transition periods. Based on integrated observations from a 325-m meteorological tower and a Doppler Wind lidar in the center of Beijing, the entire diurnal cycle of urban BLH in December 2016 was characterized. Results highlight that the Doppler lidar exhibited it is well suited for monitoring convective BLH while it trudges in monitoring stable BLH, while a 325-m meteorological tower provided an important supplement for Doppler lidar under nocturnal boundary layer and heavily polluted conditions. For the diurnal cycle, under light wind condition, the pattern of urban BLH was largely modulated by thermal forcing of solar radiation and may partly be affected by wind speed. While under strong wind condition, the pattern of urban BLH was largely modulated both by thermal forcing and dynamical forcing. The present work also presented evidence for several new features in the morning and afternoon transitions of the urban boundary layer, showing the duration of the morning transition varied between 1 and 5 h, with the largest value occurring under weak wind with high PM2.5 concentration; while the afternoon transition ranged from 3 to 6 h, which was positively (negatively) correlated to wind speed (PM2.5 concentration). Our work highlights that weak wind speed (weak dynamic motion) and heavy aerosol pollution (weak thermal forcing due to the effect of cooling) can dramatically affect the evolution of the boundary layer.

Vertical Variability of the Raindrop Size Distribution in Typhoons Observed at the Shenzhen 356-m Meteorological Tower

Raindrop size distribution (DSD) characteristics at various altitudes in two landfalling typhoons in 2017 (Hato and Pakhar) were investigated by using laser-optical disdrometers mounted at four altitudes (10, 40, 160, and 320 m) of the Shenzhen 356-m meteorological tower. Significant differences of the DSD and derived parameters, mass-weighted mean diameter (Dm), normalized intercept parameter (NW), and standard deviation of the mass distribution σm, were observed at different altitudes for the two typhoons, while the rainwater content between the four altitudes had no statistically significant differences. The low-altitude DSDs had more midsize drops (1 < D < 3 mm), fewer large drops (D > 3 mm), and narrower distribution widths than the high-altitude ones, while the concentration of small drops varied nonlinearly with height. The value of NW decreased with height, while Dm and σm increased with height. The gamma distribution parameters N0, μ, and Λ are found to increase with decreasing height. Both the derived μ–Λ and Z–R relations were significantly varied in different altitudes.

Opportunistic sensing with recreational hot-air balloon flights

We report about a new third party observation, namely wind measurements derived from Hot-Air Balloon (HAB) tracks. At first we compare the HAB winds with wind measurements from a meteorological tower and a radio acoustic wind profiler, both situated at the topographically flat Cabauw observatory in the Netherlands. To explore the potential of this new type of wind observation in other topographies, we present an intriguing HAB flight in Austria with a spectacular mountain-valley circulation. Subsequently, we compare the HAB data with a Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) model during 2011-2013 and the standard deviation of the wind speed is 2.3 ms−1. Finally we show results from a data-assimilation feasibility experiment that reveals that HAB wind information can have a positive impact on a hindcasted NWP trajectory.

Daytime Evolution of Lower Atmospheric Boundary Layer Structure: Comparative Observations between a 307-m Meteorological Tower and a Rotary-Wing UAV

A 307-m tall meteorological tower was used to evaluate meteorological observation data obtained using a rotary-wing unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). A comparative study between the tower and UAV observations was conducted during the daytime (06:00 to 19:00 local time (LT)) in the summer of 2017 (16–18th August). Hourly vertical profiles of air temperature, relative humidity, black carbon (BC), and ozone (O3) concentrations were obtained for up to 300 m height. Statistical metrics for evaluating the accuracy of UAV observations against the tower observation showed positive (potential temperature) and negative (relative humidity) biases, which were within acceptable ranges. The daytime evolution of the lower atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) was successfully captured by the hourly UAV observations. During the early morning, a large vertical slope of potential temperature was observed between 100 and 140 m, corresponding to the stable ABL height. The large vertical slope coincided with the large differences in BC and O3 concentrations between altitudes below and above the height. The transition from stable to convective ABL was observed at 10–11 LT, indicated by the ABL height higher than 300 m in the convective ABL. Finally, we provide several recommendations to reduce uncertainties of UAV observation.