Abstract
The atmospheric boundary layer height is important for constraining air pollution and meteorological models. This study attempted to validate the MODIS-estimated atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH), and variation in the ABLH in Uganda was evaluated. The ABLH was estimated from MODIS data using the mixing ratio profile gradient method and compared to the ABLH estimated from radiosonde data using three different methods. Unlike in studies in other regions of the world, correlations between ABLH estimated using MODIS and radiosonde data were weak, implying limited usefulness of MODIS data for determining ABLH. However, the diurnal variation in MODIS-derived ABLH and particulate matter (PM10) was consistent with the expected inverse relationship between PM10 mass concentration and ABLH, and the mean MODIS-derived ABLH values were significantly lower during wet seasons than dry seasons, as expected.
Highlights
The atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH) is an important parameter for modeling ground-level particulate matter (PM) concentration [1,2,3,4] and meteorological variations [5,6,7]
An illustration of the use of the gradient method to estimate the ABLH from profile data is presented in Figure 2, which shows profiles for twelve dates at Entebbe Airport
Good correlations are seen between the two radiosonde-based gradient methods but a poor correlation is seen with the moderate resolution spectroradiometer (MODIS)-based mixing ratio
Summary
The atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH) is an important parameter for modeling ground-level particulate matter (PM) concentration [1,2,3,4] and meteorological variations [5,6,7]. In the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL), turbulence results due to the diurnal cycle of surface heating and cooling caused by radiant heat flux (among other factors) [7,8,9]. Its variation has been reported to influence numerous atmospheric processes including turbulent heat flux, weather changes, and the dispersion, mixing, scavenging, and deposition of air pollutants [3,7,10]. Its climatology is important for understanding and modeling atmospheric processes. The ABLH is estimated using atmospheric profiles that are derived from observations made by instruments such as radiosonde, lidar, ceilometers, and other space-based instruments [11,12,13]
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