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Validation and Spatiotemporal Distribution of GEOS-5–Based Planetary Boundary Layer Height and Relative Humidity in China

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Abstract

Few studies have specifically focused on the validation and spatiotemporal distribution of planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) and relative humidity (RH) data in China. In this analysis, continuous PBLH and surface-level RH data simulated from GEOS-5 between 2004 and 2012, were validated against ground-based observations. Overall, the simulated RH was consistent with the statistical data from meteorological stations, with a correlation coefficient of 0.78 and a slope of 0.9. However, the simulated PBLH was underestimated compared to LIDAR data by a factor of approximately two, which was primarily because of poor simulation in late summer and early autumn. We further examined the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of two factors in four regions—North China, South China, Northwest China, and the Tibetan Plateau. The results showed that the annual PBLH trends in all regions were fairly moderate but sensitive to solar radiation and precipitation, which explains why the PBLH values were ranked in order from largest to smallest as follows: Tibetan Plateau, Northwest China, North China, and South China. Strong seasonal variation of the PBLH exhibited high values in summer and low values in winter, which was also consistent with the turbulent vertical exchange. Not surprisingly, the highest RH in South China and the lowest RH in desert areas of Northwest China (less than 30%). Seasonally, South China exhibited little variation, whereas Northwest China exhibited its highest humidity in winter and lowest humidity in spring, the maximum values in the other regions were obtained from July to September.

摘要

目前, 很少有研究关注中国地区的边界层高度(PBLH)和相对湿度(RH)的验证及时空分布特征. 本文主要利用地基观测数据分别对GEOS-5在2004-2012年模拟的PBLH和RH进行验证. 结果表明, 模拟的RH与气象台站观测数据集一致性较好, r能达到0.78, 斜率为0.9. 然而, 由于地基激光雷达采样周期处于夏末秋初, 模拟的PBLH至少低估了1倍. 将我国划分为北部, 南部, 西北及青藏四大区域, 从这四个地区的年际和季节变化讨论了PBLH和RH的时空分布特征. 结果表明: PBLH年变化趋势较为平缓, 但受太阳辐射和降雨影响较大, 我国PBLH从高到低分别为青藏, 西北, 北部和南部地区; PBLH季均值呈现夏高冬低的特点, 进一步与湍流垂直变化趋势吻合. RH表现为南部地区相对湿度最大, 而西北干旱的沙漠地区仅在30%以下; 季节尺度上, 南方地区四季差异不大, 西北地区冬季相对湿润, 春季干旱, 北部, 青藏高原地区RH高值多集中在7-9月份.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2016YFC0201507) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41471367, 91543128 and 41571417). We thank the National Meteorological Information Center and their staff for gathering and maintaining the data from the meteorological stations used in this investigation.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing Sciences, Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Yidan Si, Shenshen Li, Liangfu Chen, Chao Yu, Zifeng Wang, Yang Wang & Hongmei Wang

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Yidan Si, Yang Wang & Hongmei Wang

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  1. Yidan Si
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  2. Shenshen Li
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Correspondence to Shenshen Li.

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Si, Y., Li, S., Chen, L. et al. Validation and Spatiotemporal Distribution of GEOS-5–Based Planetary Boundary Layer Height and Relative Humidity in China. Adv. Atmos. Sci. 35, 479–492 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00376-017-6275-3

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