Four Years of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Height Retrievals Using COSMIC-2 Satellite Data

Four Years of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Height Retrievals Using COSMIC-2 Satellite Data Ginés Garnés-Morales Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), 18006 Granada, Spain Regional Atmospheric Modeling Lab (G-MAR), Department of Physics, Regional Campus of International Excellent `Campus Mare Nostrum’ (CEIR), University of Murcia, 30100 Murcia, Spain Maria João Costa Institute of Earth Sciences (ICT) and Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory (EaRSLab), 7000-671 Évora, Portugal Department of Physics, University of Évora, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2981-2232 Juan Antonio Bravo-Aranda Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), 18006 Granada, Spain Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2236-5241 María José Granados-Muñoz Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), 18006 Granada, Spain Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8718-5914 Vanda Salgueiro Institute of Earth Sciences (ICT) and Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory (EaRSLab), 7000-671 Évora, Portugal Department of Physics, University of Évora, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0169-9231 Jesús Abril-Gago Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), 18006 Granada, Spain Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7806-5013 Sol Fernández-Carvelo Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), 18006 Granada, Spain Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1105-1383 Juana Andújar-Maqueda Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), 18006 Granada, Spain Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1157-8521 Antonio Valenzuela Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), 18006 Granada, Spain Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0290-4081 Inmaculada Foyo-Moreno Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), 18006 Granada, Spain Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4651-9089 Francisco Navas-Guzmán Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), 18006 Granada, Spain Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0905-4385 Lucas Alados-Arboledas Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), 18006 Granada, Spain Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3576-7167 Daniele Bortoli Institute of Earth Sciences (ICT) and Earth Remote Sensing Laboratory (EaRSLab), 7000-671 Évora, Portugal Department of Physics, University of Évora, 7000-671 Évora, Portugal http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2334-4055 Juan Luis Guerrero-Rascado Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), 18006 Granada, Spain Department of Applied Physics, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8317-2304

This work aimed to study the atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH) from COSMIC-2 refractivity data, endeavoring to refine existing ABLH detection algorithms and scrutinize the resulting spatial and seasonal distributions. Through validation analyses involving different ground-based methodologies (involving data from lidar, ceilometer, microwave radiometers, and radiosondes), the optimal ABLH determination relied on identifying the lowest refractivity gradient negative peak with a magnitude at least τ% times the minimum refractivity gradient magnitude, where τ is a fitting parameter representing the minimum peak strength relative to the absolute minimum refractivity gradient. Different τ values were derived accounting for the moment of the day (daytime, nighttime, or sunrise/sunset) and the underlying surface (land or sea). Results show discernible relations between ABLH and various features, notably, the land cover and latitude. On average, ABLH is higher over oceans (≈1.5 km), but extreme values (maximums > 2.5 km, and minimums < 1 km) are reached over intertropical lands. Variability is generally subtle over oceans, whereas seasonality and daily evolution are pronounced over continents, with higher ABLHs during daytime and local wintertime (summertime) in intertropical (middle) latitudes.
05 03 2024 1632 rs16091632 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ 10.3390/rs16091632 https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/9/1632 https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/9/1632/pdf