On the Potential of 25 Years (1991–2015) of Rawinsonde Measurements for Elucidating Climatological and Spatiotemporal Patterns of Afternoon Boundary Layer Depths over the Contiguous US
The daytime planetary boundary layer (PBL) depth is an essential parameter in, for example, dispersion models and numerical weather prediction. We applied a recently developed technique to estimate afternoon PBL depths from 516,887 daily rawinsonde measurements obtained at 0000 UTC between 1 Jan 199...
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Wiley
2017-01-01
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| Series: | Advances in Meteorology |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/6841239 |
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| author | Temple R. Lee Sandip Pal |
| author_facet | Temple R. Lee Sandip Pal |
| author_sort | Temple R. Lee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The daytime planetary boundary layer (PBL) depth is an essential parameter in, for example, dispersion models and numerical weather prediction. We applied a recently developed technique to estimate afternoon PBL depths from 516,887 daily rawinsonde measurements obtained at 0000 UTC between 1 Jan 1991 and 31 Dec 2015 from 67 US sites. We discuss salient features in the PBL depth variability and examine the climatology of afternoon PBL depths as a function of geographical region and Köppen-Geiger climate regime. Results indicated a strong east to west PBL depth gradient, with higher PBL depths over the semiarid regions of the western US in spring and summer. Many sites located near coastlines exhibited no seasonal cycle due to marine boundary layer influences, and an inverse relationship was found between distance from the coast and observed afternoon PBL depth. Differentiating by climate type, BWk (arid, desert, and cold) has the largest median winter (1075 m) and summer (2500 m) PBL depths. Median PBL depths for Cfa (temperate, no dry season, and hot summers), Dfa (cold, no dry season, and warm summer), and Dfb (cold, no dry season, and hot summers) climate types are 750 m and 1000 m during winter and summer, respectively. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fd0ee37bf5524729b94ef9039371e434 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1687-9309 1687-9317 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2017-01-01 |
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| series | Advances in Meteorology |
| spelling | doaj-art-fd0ee37bf5524729b94ef9039371e4342025-02-03T05:45:39ZengWileyAdvances in Meteorology1687-93091687-93172017-01-01201710.1155/2017/68412396841239On the Potential of 25 Years (1991–2015) of Rawinsonde Measurements for Elucidating Climatological and Spatiotemporal Patterns of Afternoon Boundary Layer Depths over the Contiguous USTemple R. Lee0Sandip Pal1Oak Ridge Associated Universities, Oak Ridge, TN, USADepartment of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USAThe daytime planetary boundary layer (PBL) depth is an essential parameter in, for example, dispersion models and numerical weather prediction. We applied a recently developed technique to estimate afternoon PBL depths from 516,887 daily rawinsonde measurements obtained at 0000 UTC between 1 Jan 1991 and 31 Dec 2015 from 67 US sites. We discuss salient features in the PBL depth variability and examine the climatology of afternoon PBL depths as a function of geographical region and Köppen-Geiger climate regime. Results indicated a strong east to west PBL depth gradient, with higher PBL depths over the semiarid regions of the western US in spring and summer. Many sites located near coastlines exhibited no seasonal cycle due to marine boundary layer influences, and an inverse relationship was found between distance from the coast and observed afternoon PBL depth. Differentiating by climate type, BWk (arid, desert, and cold) has the largest median winter (1075 m) and summer (2500 m) PBL depths. Median PBL depths for Cfa (temperate, no dry season, and hot summers), Dfa (cold, no dry season, and warm summer), and Dfb (cold, no dry season, and hot summers) climate types are 750 m and 1000 m during winter and summer, respectively.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/6841239 |
| spellingShingle | Temple R. Lee Sandip Pal On the Potential of 25 Years (1991–2015) of Rawinsonde Measurements for Elucidating Climatological and Spatiotemporal Patterns of Afternoon Boundary Layer Depths over the Contiguous US Advances in Meteorology |
| title | On the Potential of 25 Years (1991–2015) of Rawinsonde Measurements for Elucidating Climatological and Spatiotemporal Patterns of Afternoon Boundary Layer Depths over the Contiguous US |
| title_full | On the Potential of 25 Years (1991–2015) of Rawinsonde Measurements for Elucidating Climatological and Spatiotemporal Patterns of Afternoon Boundary Layer Depths over the Contiguous US |
| title_fullStr | On the Potential of 25 Years (1991–2015) of Rawinsonde Measurements for Elucidating Climatological and Spatiotemporal Patterns of Afternoon Boundary Layer Depths over the Contiguous US |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the Potential of 25 Years (1991–2015) of Rawinsonde Measurements for Elucidating Climatological and Spatiotemporal Patterns of Afternoon Boundary Layer Depths over the Contiguous US |
| title_short | On the Potential of 25 Years (1991–2015) of Rawinsonde Measurements for Elucidating Climatological and Spatiotemporal Patterns of Afternoon Boundary Layer Depths over the Contiguous US |
| title_sort | on the potential of 25 years 1991 2015 of rawinsonde measurements for elucidating climatological and spatiotemporal patterns of afternoon boundary layer depths over the contiguous us |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2017/6841239 |
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