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Observation of wind shear during evening transition and an estimation of submicron aerosol concentrations in Beijing using a Doppler wind lidar

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Abstract

The wind speed and direction measured over six months by a Doppler wind lidar (Windcube-8) were compared with wind cup anemometers mounted on the 325-m Beijing meteorological tower (BMT). Five mountain–plain wind cases characterized by wind direction shear were selected based on the high-frequency (1.1 s) wind profile of the Windcube-8 and analyzed with 1-h mesoscale surface weather charts. Also analyzed was the relationship between in-situ PM1 (aerodynamic diameter ≤ 1 μm) concentrations measured at 260 m on BMT and the carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) of the co-located Windcube-8. The results showed that the 10-min averaged wind speed and direction were highly correlated (R = 0.96–0.99) at three matched levels (80, 140, and 200 m). The evening transition duration was 1–3 h, with an average wind speed of 1 m s–1 at 80 m above the ground. In addition, there was a zero horizontal-wind-speed zone along the wind direction shear line, and in one case, the wind speed was characterized by a Kelvin–Helmholtz gravity wave. The variability of the PM1 concentrations was captured by the CNR of the Windcube-8 in a fair weather period without the long-range transport of dust.

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Acknowledgments

We are sincerely thankful to senior engineer Aiguo Li from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics and senior engineer Mingsheng Sun from the Air Force Meteorological Center of Beijng Military Command for providing the data of the 325-m Beijing meteorological tower and mesoscale surface weather charts. We thank Professor Zhongxiang Hong from the Institute of Atmospheric Physics for his valuable suggestions relating to the wind direction comparisons. We would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers for key suggestions that helped improve the original manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry, Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100029, China

    Yong Chen, Junling An, Xiquan Wang, Yele Sun & Zifa Wang

  2. Center for Excellence in Urban Atmospheric Environment, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China

    Junling An, Yele Sun & Zifa Wang

  3. Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Jing Duan

Authors
  1. Yong Chen
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  2. Junling An
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  3. Xiquan Wang
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  4. Yele Sun
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  5. Zifa Wang
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  6. Jing Duan
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Correspondence to Xiquan Wang.

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Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (91544221, 41571130024, 41505091, and 41575124), Key Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB05030301), and LAPC (State Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Physics and Atmospheric Chemistry) Free Exploration Fund.

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Chen, Y., An, J., Wang, X. et al. Observation of wind shear during evening transition and an estimation of submicron aerosol concentrations in Beijing using a Doppler wind lidar. J Meteorol Res 31, 350–362 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-017-6036-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13351-017-6036-3

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