Measurements of Boundary Layer Profiles with In Situ Sensors and Doppler Lidar

Abstract

Abstract A new in situ measurement system and lidar processing algorithms were developed for improved measurements of boundary layer profiles. The first comparisons of simultaneous Doppler lidar–derived profiles of the key turbulence statistics of the two orthogonal horizontal velocity components (longitudinal and transverse) are presented. The instrument requirements for accurate observations of stably stratified turbulence were determined. A region of stably stratified low turbulence with constant gradients of temperature and velocity was observed above the nocturnal boundary layer using high-rate sensors. The important turbulence parameters were estimated, and turbulence spectra were consistent with new theoretical descriptions of stratified turbulence. The impact of removing the larger-scale velocity features in Doppler lidar estimates of turbulent velocity variance and length scales was investigated. The Doppler lidar–derived estimates of energy dissipation rate ε were found to be insensitive to spatial filtering of the large-scale atmospheric processes. The in situ and lidar-derived profiles were compared for the stable boundary layer in a suburban environment.