This research reports the global atmospheric boundary layer height (ABLH, which is also known as the planetary boundary layer, PBLH) features estimated using COSMIC radio occultation (RO) retrieved temperature profiles during March, April, and May in 2015. Important analytical techniques including the vertical gradient and logarithmic gradient methods applied effectively on temperature profiles have revealed a few interesting features. Mainly, west coasts of the majority of the continents are associated with relatively lower magnitudes during the daytime hours, first of its kind observations reported using a space-based remote sensing technique. Secondly, over landmasses and desert areas, ABLHs show relatively higher magnitudes during the daytime hours, due to higher sensible heat flux. Thirdly, the cold land areas show relatively lower ABLHs, whereas cold oceans depict moderately higher values. In order to explain relatively low marine ABL (MABL) heights over the west coasts of the continents, we present a schematic diagram which includes various possible physical mechanisms that might be responsible for these extremely low MABL heights. This research emphasizes that the COSMIC RO is a powerful global technique, which is able to unravel the link between ocean and the Earth’s lower atmospheric dynamics.

中文翻译：

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利用COSMIC无线电掩星数据估算全球大气边界层高度的一些重要特征

这项研究报告了2015年3月，4月和5月使用COSMIC无线电掩星（RO）检索到的温度剖面估算的全球大气边界层高度（ABLH，也称为行星边界层PBLH）特征。重要的分析技术包括有效应用于温度曲线的垂直梯度和对数梯度方法显示了一些有趣的功能。主要是，大多数大陆的西海岸在白天时段的震级相对较低，这是首次使用天基遥感技术观测到的。其次，在陆地和沙漠地区，由于较高的显热通量，ABLH在白天时段显示相对较高的幅度。第三，寒冷地区的ABLH相对较低，而寒冷的海洋则表现出较高的价值。为了解释大陆西海岸相对较低的海洋ABL（MABL）高度，我们提供了一个示意图，其中包括可能导致这些极低MABL高度的各种物理机制。这项研究强调，COSMIC RO是一项强大的全球技术，能够揭示海洋与地球较低的大气动力学之间的联系。