Diurnal Variation of Water Vapor Mixing between the Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Free Atmosphere over Changwu, the Loess Plateau in China

Abstract

We investigated the diurnal variation of water vapor mixing between the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) and the free atmosphere over the Loess Plateau in China. Water vapor and wind velocity in the troposphere were observed using a ground-based microwave radiometer and a wind profiler radar in 2005 and 2006. On sunny days in early summer, a strong vertical wind was generated in the afternoon followed by ABL development. Strong convection was enhanced when active cumulus convection developed in the afternoon. In such cases, water vapor decreased in the lower atmosphere from the early morning until late afternoon, while water vapor increased in the upper atmosphere. This finding suggests that water vapor was exchanged diurnally between the ABL and the free atmosphere. The strong convection in the ABL, which was developed by sensible heat from the land surface, played critical roles with link to cumulus convection in such vertical mixing of water vapor. Influences of other processes such as a local circulation and advection of cloud systems were also discussed.