Determination of Planetary Boundary Layer Height from Ground Based Wind Profiler and Lidar Measurements using the Covariance Wavelet Transform (CWT)

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dc.contributor.advisorHoff, Raymond M
dc.contributor.authorCompton, Jaime Cole
dc.contributor.departmentPhysics
dc.contributor.programPhysics, Atmospheric
dc.date.accessioned2015-10-14T03:13:18Z
dc.date.available2015-10-14T03:13:18Z
dc.date.issued2012-01-01
dc.description.abstractThis thesis documents the application of the Covariance Wavelet Transform (CWT) to lidar and, for the first time to our knowledge, wind profiler data to examine the possibility of accurate and continuous planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) measurements on short temporal resolution (one and fifteen minute averages respectively). Comparisons between PBLHs derived from the Elastic Lidar Facility (ELF) through application of the CWT and daytime radiosonde launches from Beltsville and RFK Stadium as part of the September 2009 NOAA/ARL and NCEP field study show an R2 = 0.84 correlation. PBLHs from ELF aided in diagnosing issues with the automatic PBLH calculation from Aircraft Communications Addressing and Reporting System (ACARS) profiles in the Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis used by plume dispersion modelers. Determining the mixing in the PBL was one goal of a study of the spatial and diurnal variations of the PBL height over Maryland for July 2011, during NASA's Earth Venture mission DISCOVER-AQ. A semi-automated PBLH detection algorithm utilizing the CWT for wind profiler data was developed. This algorithm was tested on data from the 915 MHz wind profiler at Beltsville, Maryland, and compared against PBLHs derived from ground based radiosondes measured at Beltsville. Comparisons were also done between PBLHs derived from ground based lidars at UMBC and Beltsville. Results from the comparison show an R2 = 0.89, 0.92, and 0.94 correlation between the radiosonde PBLHs and the lidars and wind profiler PBLHs, respectively. Accurate determination of the PBLH by applying the CWT to lidar and wind profilers will allow for improved air quality forecasting and understanding of regional pollution dynamics.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.genretheses
dc.identifierdoi:10.13016/M2ZH41
dc.identifier.other10641
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11603/1051
dc.languageen
dc.relation.isAvailableAtThe University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Theses and Dissertations Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Graduate School Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Student Collection
dc.relation.ispartofUMBC Physics Department Collection
dc.rightsThis item may be protected under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Law. It is made available by UMBC for non-commercial research and education. For permission to publish or reproduce, please see http://aok.lib.umbc.edu/specoll/repro.php or contact Special Collections at speccoll(at)umbc.edu.
dc.sourceOriginal File Name: Compton_umbc_0434M_10641.pdf
dc.subjectDISCOVER-AQ
dc.subjectLidar
dc.subjectPlanetary Boundary Layer
dc.subjectWavelet
dc.subjectwind profiler
dc.titleDetermination of Planetary Boundary Layer Height from Ground Based Wind Profiler and Lidar Measurements using the Covariance Wavelet Transform (CWT)
dc.typeText
dcterms.accessRightsAccess limited to the UMBC community. Item may possibly be obtained via Interlibrary Loan through a local library, pending author/copyright holder's permission.

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