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The Use of MERRA-2 Near Surface Meteorology to Understand the Behavior of Planetary Boundary Layer Heights Derived from Wind Profiler Data over the US Great PlainsThe atmospheric general circulation model (GCM) that underlies the MERRA-2 reanalysis includes a suite of physical parameterizations that describe the processes that occur in the planetary boundary layer (PBL). The data assimilation system assures that the atmospheric state variables used as input to these parameterizations are constrained to the best fit to all of the available observations. Many studies, however, have shown that the GCM-based estimates of MERRA-2 PBL heights are biased high, and so are not reliable for application related to constituent transport or the carbon cycle. A new 20-year record of PBL heights was derived from Wind Profiler (WP) backscatter data measured at a wide network of stations throughout the US Great Plains and has been validated against independent estimates. The behavior of these PBL heights shows geographical and temporal variations that are difficult to attribute to particular physical processes without additional information that are not part of the observational record. In the present study, we use information on physical processes from MERRA-2 to understand the behavior of the WP derived PBL heights. The behavior of the annual cycle of both MERRA-2 and WP PBL heights shows three classes of behavior: (i) canonical, where the annual cycle follows the annual cycle of the sun, (ii) delayed, where the PBL height reaches its annual maximum after the annual maximum of the solar insolation, and (iii) double maxima, where the PBL height begins to rise with the solar insolation but falls sometimes during the summer and then rises again. Although the magnitude of these types of variations is described by the WP PBL record, the explanation for these behaviors and the relationship to local precipitation, temperature, hydrology and sensible and latent heat fluxes is articulated using information from MERRA-2.
Document ID
20180000615
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Presentation
Authors
Salmun, Haydee (Hunter Coll. New York, NY, United States)
Molod, Andrea (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Collow, Allison (Universities Space Research Association Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
January 18, 2018
Publication Date
December 11, 2017
Subject Category
Geophysics
Report/Patent Number
GSFC-E-DAA-TN50616
Meeting Information
Meeting: American Geophysical Union (AGU) 2017 Fall Meeting
Location: New Orleans, LA
Country: United States
Start Date: December 11, 2017
End Date: December 15, 2017
Sponsors: American Geophysical Union
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: NNG11HP16A
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Use by or on behalf of the US Gov. Permitted.
Keywords
MERRA

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