Atmospheric-Boundary-Layer-Height Variation over Mountainous and Urban Sites in Beijing as Derived from Radar Wind-Profiler Measurements

Solanki, Raman; Guo, Jianping; Li, Jian; Singh, Narendra; Guo, Xiaoyi; Han, Youngho; Lv, Yanmin; Zhang, Jian; Liu, Boming

doi:10.1007/s10546-021-00639-9

Cited by 24 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…These two methods analyse the vertical gradient profile of potential temperature (θ ) and RH find the minimum local peak value that exceeds the threshold value. Then, these two methods determine the height corresponding to the minimum local peak value as PBLH (Seidel et al, 2010;Stull, 1988;Garratt, 1994;Oke, 1995). The threshold values of the GM θ and GM RH are set as 0.003 K m −1 and 0 % m −1 , respectively.…”

Section: Methodology For Estimating Pblhmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…SBL is formed via inversion stratification accompanied by ground radiation cooling. It typically occurs at night, and it is also known as the nocturnal boundary layer (Stull, 1988;Zhang et al, 2016Zhang et al, , 2020.…”

Section: Classification Of Thermodynamic Stability Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The planetary boundary layer (PBL) is the lowest layer of the atmosphere. Its vertical structure is highly significant in the study of the environment and climate (Stull, 1988;Garratt et al, 1982;Guo et al, 2016;. The structure of PBL is greatly affected by topography, season and weather (Eresmaa et al, 2006;Guo et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In recent years, various instruments have been developed to observe the structure of PBL. These instruments include the radiosonde (RS), radar wind profiler, microwave radiometer, lidar and ceilometer (Emeis et al, 2004;2021;Liu et al, 2019Liu et al, , 2018bAryee et al, 2020;Jiang et al, 2020). In accordance with the principle of observation, these instruments can be divided into three categories.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The inversion top can also be defined as PBLH. The maximum level of the vertical potential temperature gradient was determined as the PBLH, indicating a transition from the lower region with less stable convection to the upper region with more stable convection (Stull, 1988;Garratt, 1994;Oke, 1995). Similarly, the minimum level of the vertical RH gradient was defined by Seidel et al (2010) as the PBLH.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of retrieval methods for planetary boundary layer height based on radiosonde data

Liu

et al. 2021

Atmos. Meas. Tech.

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Abstract. Radiosonde (RS) is widely used to detect the vertical structures of the planetary boundary layer (PBL), and numerous methods have been proposed for retrieving PBL height (PBLH) from RS data. However, an algorithm that is suitable under all atmospheric conditions does not exist. This study evaluates the performance of four common PBLH algorithms under different thermodynamic stability conditions based on RS data collected from nine sites in January–December 2019. The four RS algorithms are the potential temperature gradient method (GMθ), relative humidity (RH) gradient method (GMRH), parcel method (PM) and Richardson number method (RM). Atmospheric conditions are divided into convective boundary layer (CBL), neutral boundary layer (NBL) and stable boundary layer (SBL) on the basis of the potential temperature profile. Results indicate that SBL is dominant at nighttime, whilst CBL dominates at daytime. Under all and SBL classifications, PBLH retrieved by RM is typically higher than those retrieved using the other methods. On the contrary, the PBLH result retrieved by PM is the lowest. Under CBL and NBL classifications, PBLH retrieved by PM is the highest. PBLH retrieved by GMθ and GMRH is relatively low under all classifications. Moreover, the uncertainty analysis shows that the consistency of PBLH retrieved by different algorithms is more than 80 % under CBL and NBL classifications. By contrast, the consistency of PBLH is less than 60 % under SBL classification. The average profiles and standard deviations of wind speed and potential temperature under consistent and inconsistent conditions are also investigated. The results indicate that consistent cases are typically accompanied by evident atmospheric stratification, such as a large gradient in the potential temperature profile or a low-level jet in the wind speed profile. These results indicate that the reliability of the PBLH results retrieved from RS data is affected by the structure of the boundary layer. Overall, GMθ and RM are appropriate for CBL condition. GMθ and PM are recommended for NBL condition. GMθ and GMRH are robust for SBL condition. This comprehensive comparison provides a reference for selecting the appropriate algorithm when retrieving PBLH from RS data.

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Section: Methodology For Estimating Pblhmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Classification Of Thermodynamic Stability Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Evaluation of retrieval methods for planetary boundary layer height based on radiosonde data

Liu

et al. 2021

Atmos. Meas. Tech.

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Surface wind climates in the North China Plain: Implications for air quality

Wang

et al. 2022

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Wind climatology is significant for applications from weather forecasting to air pollution control. Investigation of wind climates in the North China Plain (NCP) region is insufficient yet. Based on hourly observational data at 94 surface weather stations from 2014 to 2020, wind climatic features in the NCP region were examined using statistical and clustering methods. The seasonal average wind speed over this region is the highest in spring (2.7 mÁs −1 ), followed by winter (2.5 mÁs −1 ), and weakest in summer and autumn (2.0 and 1.9 mÁs −1 ). The annual mean wind speed is higher in the mountainous and coastal areas (2.0-2.5 mÁs −1 ) but lower in the plains (1.5-2.0 mÁs −1 ). Mountain-plain/valley winds and sea-land breezes are important in the associated areas. Wind fields in the plains are variable, possibly due to the coexistence of multiple synoptic winds and regional thermal circulations. Monthly mean background wind fields display that northwesterly and southeasterly winds prevail over this region in winter and summer, respectively. Local winds, that is, mountain-plain winds and sea-land breezes, vary diurnally, but a time lag of about 3 hr exists between them. Synoptic winds act as a mediate wind system between local and background winds, being identified into eight patterns using a hierarchical clustering method. Among them, two patterns featuring a weak wind convergence zone along the mountains (36%) and three patterns featuring southerlies (55%) are major synoptic winds in this region.

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Planetary boundary layer climatological features over North China Plain: Derived from intensive experiment data

Yan

Jin

et al. 2023

Intl Journal of Climatology

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A field campaign was carried out in the North China Plain (NCP) spanning 4 years and formed a dataset of more than 2,700 planetary boundary layer (PBL) sounding samples (872 in summer and 1,841 in winter). Based on these data, fundamental aspects of the PBL climatology over this region were investigated. First, the ensemble mean features of the PBL were revealed. The maximum PBL height in the daytime reaches 1,079 versus 786 m (summer vs. winter, hereafter the same), while about 200 m at nighttime. The bulk mean temperature and specific humidity across the PBL in summer are significantly higher than those in winter (24.0 vs. −0.5°C; 8.9 vs. 1.7 g⋅kg−1, respectively). Mean wind speed within the PBL keeps almost the same in winter and summer (4.5 m⋅s−1) but with a seasonal difference in wind direction (southerly vs. northwesterly). Second, significant diurnal variations within/above the PBL were quantified. Day‐night temperature contrast is largest near the ground (7.9 vs. 5.1°C), and it decreases with height to almost a constant above the PBL. Diurnal variation amplitude of specific humidity is about 1.0 versus 0.3 g⋅kg−1. Diurnal variation of winds also supports the extended influence of the earth surface across the PBL. Third, the local influence on the PBL over the NCP is also presented. PBL height is higher in the plain centre; temperature is lower in coast than inland; winds in the PBL are strongly modulated by local or mesoscale circulations including the plain wind and sea breeze; low‐level jets are common at summer night over the central and eastern parts of the NCP. Analysis reveals possible energy and water vapour exchange across the PBL, and additional heating mechanism above the PBL (e.g., solar radiation absorption).

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Atmospheric-Boundary-Layer-Height Variation over Mountainous and Urban Sites in Beijing as Derived from Radar Wind-Profiler Measurements

Cited by 24 publications

References 74 publications

Evaluation of retrieval methods for planetary boundary layer height based on radiosonde data

Evaluation of retrieval methods for planetary boundary layer height based on radiosonde data

Surface wind climates in the North China Plain: Implications for air quality

Planetary boundary layer climatological features over North China Plain: Derived from intensive experiment data

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