Abstract
The growth of the daytime convective atmospheric boundary layer, which plays a pivotal role in the vertical mixing and dispersal of water vapour and pollutants, is modulated by cloud radiative effects. Assessment of this cloud effect is sparse in any geographical region and non-existent over tropical coastal regions. We investigate the effect of clouds on the diurnal evolution of boundary-layer height over tropical coastal location Thumba (8.5°N, 77°E) during onshore and offshore flow using multi-year (2010–2016) microwave radiometer profiler observations. The boundary-layer height during both cloudy and clear-sky periods increases rapidly from 0800 LT (local time = UTC + 5.1 h) to attain a daytime peak around noon (400–1500 m). The seasonal mean noontime boundary layer height during cloudy periods is lower than that during clear-sky periods by > 900 m (> 400 m) when offshore (onshore) flow prevails during winter and pre-monsoon seasons. The forenoon growth rate of the boundary-layer height during clear-sky offshore flow is rapid (> 380 m h−1) compared to that during cloudy offshore (160 m h−1), clear-sky onshore (160–250 m h−1), and cloudy onshore (> 100 m h−1) flow. Effects of shortwave cloud radiative forcing and soil temperature on the noontime boundary-layer height and their interdependencies are presented. These observations reveal the contrasting and significant effect of clouds on the growth of the daytime boundary layer during onshore and offshore flow, and the coupled effects of cloud radiative forcing and soil temperature on boundary-layer height over tropical coastal regions, which provide essential constraints for evaluating model simulations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anurose TJ, Subrahamanyam DB, Sunilkumar SV (2016) Two years observations on the diurnal evolution of coastal atmospheric boundary layer features over Thiruvananthapuram (8.5° N, 76.9° E), India. Theor Appl Clim. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-016-1955-y
Bianco L, Djalalova IV, King CW, Wilczak MJ (2011) Diurnal evolution and annual variability of boundary-layer height and its correlation to other meteorological variables in California’s central valley. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 140:491–511. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-011-9622-4
Chen W, Kuze H, Uchiyama A et al (2001) One-year observation of urban mixed layer characteristics at Tsukuba, Japan using a micro pulse lidar. Atmos Environ 35:4273–4280. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(01)00181-9
Cimini D, Hewison TJ, Martin L et al (2006) Temperature and humidity profile retrievals from ground-based microwave radiometers during TUC. Meteorol Zeitschrift 15:45–56. https://doi.org/10.1127/0941-2948/2006/0099
Cimini D, Campos E, Ware R et al (2011) Thermodynamic atmospheric profiling during the 2010 Winter Olympics using Groundbased Microwave Radiometry. IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens 49:4959–4969
Cimini D, De Angelis F, Dupont J-C et al (2013) Mixing layer height retrievals by multichannel microwave radiometer observations. Atmos Meas Tech 6:2941–2951. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-6-2941-2013
Coakley JA, Bretherton FP (1982) Cloud cover from high-resolution scanner data: detecting and allowing for partially filled fields of view. J Geophys Res 87:4917–4932
Coen MC, Praz C, Haefele A et al (2014) Determination and climatology of the planetary boundary layer height above the Swiss plateau by in situ and remote sensing measurements as well as by the COSMO-2 model. Atmos Chem Phy 14:13205–13221
De Tomasi F, Miglietta MM, National I, Perrone MR (2011) The growth of the planetary boundary layer at a coastal site: a case study. Boundary-Layer Meteorol. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-011-9592-6
Garratt JR (1992) The atmospheric boundary layer. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Güldner J, Spankuch D (2001) Remote sensing of the thermodynamic state of the atmospheric boundary layer by microwave radiometry. J Atmos Ocean Technol 18:925–933
Han Y, Westwater ER (2000) Analysis and improvement of tipping calibration for ground based microwave radiometers. IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens 38:1260–1276
Knupp K, Ware R, Cimini D et al (2009) Ground-based passive microwave profiling during dynamic weather conditions. J Atmos Ocean Technol 26:1057–1073
Kunhikrishnan PK, Sen Gupta K, Ramachandran R et al (1993) Structure of the thermal internal boundary layer over Thumba, India. Ann Geophys 11:52–60
Lee TR, Pal S (2017) 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. Adv Meteorol. https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/6841239
Liu S, Liang X-Z (2010) Observed diurnal cycle climatology of planetary boundary layer height. J Clim 23:5790–5809. https://doi.org/10.1175/2010JCLI3552.1
Lokoshchenko MA (2002) Long-term sodar observations in Moscow and a new approach to potential mixing determination by radiosonde data. J Atmos Ocean Technol 19:1151–1162. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0426(2002)019%3c1151:LTSOIM%3e2.0.CO;2
Melecio-vázquez D, González-cruz JE, Ramamurthy P, Arend M (2018) Thermal structure of a coastal–urban boundary layer. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 169:151–161. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-018-0361-7
Miller STK, Keim BD, Talbot RW, Mao H (2003) Sea breeze: structure, forecasting, and impacts. Rev Geophys. https://doi.org/10.1029/2003RG000124
Mishra MK, Rajeev K (2016) Direct observations of shortwave aerosol radiative forcing at surface and its diurnal variation during the Asian dry season at southwest Indian peninsula. Meteorol Atmos Phys 128:477–489. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-015-0427-8
Pal S, Haeffelin M (2015) Forcing mechanisms governing diurnal, seasonal, and interannual variability in the boundary layer depths: five years of continuous lidar observations over a suburban site near Paris. J Geophys Res Atmos. https://doi.org/10.1002/2015JD02368
Pal S, Lee TR (2019) Contrasting air mass advection explains significant differences in boundary layer depth seasonal cycles under onshore versus offshore flows geophysical research letters. Geophys Res Lett. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL081699
Parameswaran K, Rajeev K, Sengupta K (1997) An observational study of night-time aerosol concentrations in the lower atmosphere at a tropical coastal station. J Atmos Sol Terr Phys 59:1727–1737
Parameswaran K, Sunilkumar SV, Rajeev K et al (2004) Boundary layer aerosols at Trivandrum tropical coast. Adv Sp Res 34:838–844. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2003.08.059
Rajeev K, Mishra MK, Sunilkumar S V, Sijikumar S (2016) Dual polarization micropulse lidar observations of the diurnal evolution of atmospheric boundary layer over a tropical coastal station. In: SPIE, Lidar remote sensing for environmental monitoring XV
Raju CS, Renju R, Antony T et al (2013) Microwave radiometric observation of a waterspout over coastal Arabian sea. IEEE Geosci Remote Sens Lett 10:1075–1079. https://doi.org/10.1109/LGRS.2012.2229960
Ramachandran R, Prakash JWJ, Sen Gupta K et al (1994) Variability of surface roughness and turbulence intensities at a coastal site in India. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 70:385–400
Renju R, Raju CS, Mathew N et al (2015) Microwave radiometer observations of interannual water vapor variability and vertical structure over a tropical station. J Geophys Res Atmos. https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JD022838
Renju R, Raju CS, Mishra MK et al (2017) Atmospheric boundary layer characterization using multiyear ground-based microwave radiometric observations over a tropical coastal station. IEEE Trans Geosci Remote Sens 55:6877–6882
Ribeiro FND, De Oliveira AP, Soares J, De Miranda RM (2018) Effect of sea breeze propagation on the urban boundary layer of the metropolitan region of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Atmos Res 214:174–188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2018.07.015
Ricchiazzi P, Yang S, Gautier C, Sowle D (1998) SBDART: a research and teaching software tool for plane-parallel radiative transfer in the earth’s atmosphere. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 79:2101–2114. https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0477(1998)079%3c2101:SARATS%3e2.0.CO;2
Schmid P, Niyogi D (2012) A method for estimating planetary boundary layer heights and its application over the ARM southern great plains site. J Atmos Ocean Technol. https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-11-00118.1
Seibert P, Beyrich F, Gryning SE et al (2000) Review and intercomparison of operational methods for the determination of the mixing height. Atmos Environ 34:1001–1027
Seidel DJ, Ao CO, Li K (2010) Estimating climatological planetary boundary layer heights from radiosonde observations: Comparison of methods and uncertainty analysis. J Geophys Res Atmos 115:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JD013680
Seidel DJ, Zhang Y, Beljaars A et al (2012) Climatology of the planetary boundary layer over the continental United States and Europe. J Geophys Res Atmos 117:1–15. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JD018143
Solheim F, Godwin JR, Westwater ER et al (1998) Radiometric profiling of temperature, water vapor and cloud liquid water using various inversion methods. Radiol Sci 33:130–134
Stull RB (1988) An introduction to boundary layer meteorology. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht
Talbot C, Augustin P, Leroy C et al (2007) Impact of a sea breeze on the boundary-layer dynamics and the atmospheric stratification in a coastal area of the North Sea. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 125:133–154. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-007-9185-6
Tucker SC, Senff CJ, Weickmann AM et al (2009) Doppler lidar estimation of mixing height using turbulence, shear, and aerosol profiles. J Atmos Ocean Technol 26:673–688. https://doi.org/10.1175/2008JTECHA1157.1
Wang X, Wang K (2016) Homogenized variability of radiosonde-derived atmospheric boundary layer height over the global land surface from 1973 to 2014. J Clim 29:6893–6908. https://doi.org/10.1175/JCLI-D-15-0766.1
Ware R, Solheim F, Carpenter R, et al (2003) A multi-channel radiometric profiler of temperature, humidity and cloud liquid. Radio Sci. https://doi.org/10.1029/2002RS002856
Ware R, Cimini D, Campos E et al (2013) Thermodynamic and liquid profiling during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Atmos Res. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2013.05.019
Zhang N, Chen Y, Zhao W (2012) Lidar and microwave radiometer observations of planetary boundary layer structure under light wind weather. J Appl Remote Sens 6:63513–63518
Zhang Y, Gan Q, Gong Y et al (2014) Diurnal variations of the planetary boundary layer height estimated from intensive radiosonde observations over Yichang, China. Sci China Tech Sci 57:2172–2176. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11431-014-5639-5
Acknowledgements
One of the authors, Edwin V. Davis, is supported by ISRO Research Fellowship by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). The authors thank Dr. C. Suresh Raju, SPL, for providing microwave radiometer profiler (MRP) data during 2011–2016 and Dr. NVP Kiran Kumar, SPL, for providing wind data. Except for MRP, the data used here are part of the IGBP-NOBLE project. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their very helpful suggestions for improving the ms and addressing some of the important missing elements.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Electronic supplementary material
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Davis, E.V., Rajeev, K. & Mishra, M.K. Effect of Clouds on the Diurnal Evolution of the Atmospheric Boundary-Layer Height Over a Tropical Coastal Station. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 175, 135–152 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-019-00497-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-019-00497-6