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Nocturnal boundary-layer height: Observations by acoustic sounders and predictions in terms of surface-layer parameters

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Abstract

Acoustic sounder measurements of the stable boundary-layer height taken during the EPRI Plume Model Validation and Development Project experiment are examined. Comparison of simultaneous measurements by two sodars located 15 km apart shows good agreement. Several widely used diagnostic formulas for estimation of the boundary-layer height, based on wind speed and surface-layer parameters, such as friction velocity and Monin-Obukhov length, are tested against the sodar data. Of these, best performance is found using a simple linear relationship with friction velocity or, alternatively, wind speed at 10 m height. No evidence is found to support the more often used Zilitinkevich (1972) formula. Tests using selected data from the Cabauw site in the Netherlands confirm the results found on the basis of EPRI data.

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Author notes

  1. Darko Koracin

    Present address: Hydrometeorological Institute of Croatia, 41000, 3, Zagreb, Gric, Yugoslavia

  2. Ruwim Berkowicz

    Present address: Desert Research Institute, EEEC, University of Nevada System, P.O. Box 60220, 89506, Reno, Nv, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Agency of Environmental Protection, Air Pollution Laboratory, Risø National Laboratory, DK-4000, Roskilde, Denmark

    Darko Koracin & Ruwim Berkowicz

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  1. Darko Koracin
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  2. Ruwim Berkowicz
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Koracin, D., Berkowicz, R. Nocturnal boundary-layer height: Observations by acoustic sounders and predictions in terms of surface-layer parameters. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 43, 65–83 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00153969

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00153969

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