HR: 0800h
AN: A51B-0342    [Abstracts]
TI: Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) Heights Derived From NASA Langley Airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) Data Acquired During TexAQS/GoMACCS, CHAPS, and MILAGRO
AU: * Burton, S P
EM: sharon.p.burton@nasa.gov
AF: Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 1 Enterprise Pkwy Suite 200, Hampton, VA 23666, United States
AU: Ferrare, R A
EM: Richard.A.Ferrare@nasa.gov
AF: NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, United States
AU: Hostetler, C A
EM: Chris.A.Hostetler@nasa.gov
AF: NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, United States
AU: Hair, J W
EM: Johnathan.W.Hair@nasa.gov
AF: NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, United States
AU: Cook, A
EM: Anthony.L.Cook@nasa.gov
AF: NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, United States
AU: Harper, D
EM: David.B.Harper@nasa.gov
AF: NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, United States
AU: Obland, M D
EM: Michael.D.Obland@nasa.gov
AF: NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681, United States
AU: Rogers, R R
EM: Raymond.R.Rogers@nasa.gov
AF: Science Systems and Applications, Inc., 1 Enterprise Pkwy Suite 200, Hampton, VA 23666, United States
AB: The NASA Langley Research Center airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) was deployed on the NASA Langley B-200 King Air aircraft in the Mexico City metropolitan area during the Mega-city Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations (MILAGRO) campaign in March 2006; in the Houston metropolitan area during the Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS)/Gulf of Mexico Atmospheric Composition and Climate Study (GoMACCS) in August and September 2006; and in the Oklahoma City area during Cumulus Humilis Aerosol Processing Study (CHAPS) in June 2007. The HSRL instrument measures profiles of aerosol extinction, backscatter and depolarization. The height of the Planetary Boundary Layer was derived by identifying sharp gradients in the HSRL 532-nm aerosol backscatter signal profiles using an automated technique based on Brooks (2003) [I.M. Brooks, Finding Boundary Layer Top: Application of Wavelet Covariance Transform to Lidar Backscatter Profiles. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology 20, 1092-1105, 2003]. The technique uses a Haar wavelet covariance transform with multiple wavelet dilation values to adapt to non-ideal conditions where there can be gradients in the background signals and the boundary layer can be ill defined. The technique also identifies the top and bottom of the transition (i.e. entrainment) zone. We have further modified the algorithm to find PBL heights using HSRL backscatter data acquired during GoMACCS and MILAGRO, where complex terrain and overlying aerosol layers further complicate identifying the boundary layer. In addition, PBL heights are derived from HSRL backscatter data acquired during the CHAPS campaign, in another urban environment where the terrain is not as complex. We will describe the algorithm modifications we have made and show boundary layer heights and transition zone thicknesses for HSRL measurements over the Oklahoma City, Houston, and Mexico City areas during CHAPS, TexAQS/GoMACCS, and MILAGRO.
DE: 0345 Pollution: urban and regional (0305, 0478, 4251)
DE: 3307 Boundary layer processes
SC: Atmospheric Sciences [A]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting