Journal of Applied Meteorology - Volume 39 - Number 8 - Boundary Layer Height and Entrainment Zone Thickness Measured by Lidars and Wind-Profiling Radars

Sep 29, 2026

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The authors evaluate measurements of boundary layer height and entrainment zone thickness obtained with two lidars and a radar wind profiler during the Flatland96 Lidars in Flat Terrain experiment. Lidar backscatter reflects aerosol content and some molecular scattering, while profiler backscatter responds to refractive index structure driven by moisture gradients and turbulence. Despite different backscatter mechanisms, agreement for boundary layer height is strong at 1-hour resolution, with especially high correlations between the two lidars.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages176

Reading Time7 h 24 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

1. Introduction

Journal of Applied Meteorology American Meteorological Society NHMLTNQC 851 .A663 Journal of applied meteorologY3v 39n 808/01/2000Received:08-29-00UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIIAT MANOA --LIBRARY August 2000 Volume 39 Number 8 Journal of Applied Meteorology JOHN ALBERTSONJEREMY HALESDAVID W.REYNOLDSTechnical EditorUniversity ofVirginiaENVAIRNCEPMARK E.FERNAU PAL ARYAKEVIN KNUPPPHILIP ROSENKRANZSenior Copy EditorNorth Carolina State UniversityUniversity of Alabama inMassachusetts Institute ofLEAH K.WHALENHuntsvilleTechnologyROELOF T.BRUINTJESKONRAD STEFFENCopy EditorWITOLD KRAJEWSKIANNE E.SIEFKENNCARUniversity of IowaUniversity of ColoradoROLAND B.STULLEditorial AssistantsPAUL J.DEMoTTKENNETH KUNKELUniversity of British ColumbiaREBECCA S.BUREAUColorado State UniversityIllinois State Water SurveyMATTHEW S.GILLESPIESHIYUAN(SHARON)ZHONGCARA E.GUALTIERIELLSWORTH DUTTONGRANT PETTYPacific Northwest NationalMICHELE JARMAN(UVA)NOAA/CMDLPurdue UniversityLaboratoryRUTA RAUBER(UIUC)MARYL N.ROBINSON(PU)JOHANNA WHTEMAN(PNNL) The JOURNAL OF APPLIED METEOROLOGY publishes applied research related to physical meteorology,cloud physics,hydrology,weather mod-ification,satelite meteorology,boundary layer processes,air pollution meteorology (including dispersion and chemical processes),agriculturaland forest meteorology,and applied meteorological numerical models of all types. INFORMATION FOR CONTRIBUTORS Manuscripts dealing with topics in applied meteorology shouldbe sent to Office of the Chief Editor,Journal of Applied Meteo-rology,Prof.Michael Garstang,Chief Editor,P.O.Box 625,Ear-lysville,VA 22936(tel:804-975-4344,fax:804-975-1465,e-mail:sundog7@prodigy.net).When a manuscript is submitted,the au-thor must inform the Chief Editor if it has been previously pub-lished in any language or if it is under consideration forpublication by another journal.The author must also promptlyinform the Chief Editor if it is submitted for publication elsewherebefore its disposition by the JOURNALOF APPLIED METEOROLOGY. Each manuscript should be accompanied by a statement trans-ferring copyright from the authors(or other holder of the copy-right)to the American Meteorological Society.The appropriateform for the transfer of the copyright to AMS is printed near theback of the January and/or December issues of AMS journals;cop- Continued on Cover 3 Chief EditorEditorsMICHAEL GARSTANGHARSHVARDHANROBERT M.RAUBERC.DAVID WHITEMANUniversity of VirginiaPurdue UniversityUniversity of Ilinois at Urbana-ChampaignPacific Northwest National LaboratoryAssociate EditorsEditorial Staff ies of the form are also available from the Chief Editor's office,from the Society,and on the AMS Web site.*The written,signedtransfer of the copyright is required under US.Copyright Law (Title17 USC,as revised by P.L.94-533)in order for AMS to have validrights to continue its wide dissemination of research results andother scientific information.Editorial action on a manuscript that isnot accompanied by the completed copyright transfer form,signedby all authors,will be delayed until the form is received. Two departments are maintained in the journal:Articles andNotes and Correspondence.Correspondence is intended for infor-mal comment and discussion of published papers and will be pub-lished at the discretion of the editors.Notes may be brief papersdescribing short development projects or comments on the appli-cation of theory.This department is also useful for presentingsignificant preliminary results of extended investigations. Editorial Secretary MARY McMAHON Publications Ofice ManagerMELISSA WESTON Publications Assistant HARRY L.WILLIAMS AUGUST 2000 # Boundary Layer Height and Entrainment Zone Thickness Measured by Lidars andWind-Profiling Radars STEPHEN A.COHN Atmospheric Technology Division,National Center for Atmospheric Research,Boulder,Colorado WAYNE M.ANGEVINE Cooperative Institute for Research in

FAQs

What instruments are used to measure boundary layer height and entrainment zone thickness in this study?

Two lidars and a radar wind profiler are used to observe boundary layer height and entrainment zone thickness during the Flatland96 experiment.

How do lidar and wind profiler backscatter mechanisms differ?

Lidar backscatter is proportional to aerosol content (and some molecular scattering), whereas wind profiler backscatter depends on refractive index structure, including moisture gradients and turbulence strength.

How strong is the agreement among instruments for boundary layer height measurements?

The study reports good agreement for boundary layer height at 1-hour resolution, with correlations of 0.87 and 0.95 between the profiler and each lidar under daytime convective conditions, and 0.99 between the two lidars.

Sep 29, 2026

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