Planetary Boundary Layer Height Estimation: Methodology and Case Study Using NAST-I FIREX-AQ Field Campaign Data

The ratio of potential temperature (T_p) and dewpoint temperature (T_d), which is derived from retrievals of infrared hyperspectral measurements, is adopted as a new parameter for better estimating planetary boundary layer height (PBLH). A case study, conducted with National Airborne Sounder Testbed-Interferometer (NAST-I) measurements obtained during the Fire Influence on Regional to Global Environments and Air Quality field campaign, is presented herein. We use NAST-I geophysical parameter retrievals from the Single Field-of-view Sounder Atmospheric Product algorithm, which ensures higher vertical resolution of temperature and moisture profiles as well as accurate surface temperature and emissivity, to estimate PBLH with a higher horizontal spatial resolution of 2.6 km. As a result of using the ratio of potential and dewpoint temperatures, instead of individual thermodynamic retrievals, a more robust parameter for estimating PBLH is obtained. A quality control process is developed to filter out abnormal outliers. Additionally, those outliers are modified using statistics from nominal distributions of the T_p/T_d ratio and PBLH. A high consistency between NAST-I thermodynamically-retrieved PBLH and that from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis-5, which uses both dynamic and thermodynamic information, successfully supports the validity and significance of our approach.