Remote sensing atmospheric boundary layer

Advancements in satellite remote sensing have provided greater vertical resolution which enables higher accuracy for planetary boundary layer measurements.

The radiative forcing for marine boundary layer (MBL) clouds is imperative for understanding any global warming changes.

The planetary boundary layer can have lower level clouds located around the capping inversion top.

This instrument paved the way for more weather satellite systems that utilize the visible, infrared and microwave radiation spectrum.

Current remote sensing instruments that can help detect planetary boundary layer phenomenon include the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard Terra and Aqua as well as CALIOP (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization) aboard CALIPSO.

MCC generally occurs over ocean regions and is primarily found off the coasts of major continents particularly in North and South America.

The capping inversion of the planetary boundary layer acts as a lid for the convection creating a horizontal plane for the hexagonal cloud structures.

[6] Satellites images from TIROS helped to highlight one of the main differences between laboratory convection cells and those that occur in the atmosphere.

Closed cellular patterns are generally formed under weak convective mixing in the lower levels with an inversion layer cap.

Ground-based lidar have shown agreement with CALIOP in measuring isolated aerosol layers above the Seoul metropolitan area.

[11] The use of satellite derived boundary layer heights provides another method for verifying climate model output.

Nighttime retrievals Under suitable conditions, specialized lidar techniques can be used to determine the boundary layer composition.