The boundary layer height and entrainment zone assessment from lidar , meteorological and forecast model data

Planetary boundary layer (PBL) processes control energy, water, and pollutant exchanges between the surface and free troposphere. Mixing height data are necessary to evaluate boundary layer transport parameterizations in numerical weather prediction models, and to relate fluxes and concentrations of gaseous and particle constituents in the atmosphere from inverse models. In this study the top of the atmospheric mixed layer and the thickness of the entrainment zone is analyzed using lidar, meteorological (NOAA-GDAS) and numerical weather prediction model (WRF), focused on three years during 2009-2011. Currently, at Magurele, Romania (44.35 N, 26.03 E, 90 m asl) the PBL cannot be measured directly and it is estimated from the multiwavelength Raman lidar (RALI) data, by applying the gradient method to the ratio of 1064 nm channel to 532nm channel’ range corrected signal RCS1064/RCS532p. The results show good agreement between the data sets even though some discrepancy was found and explained.