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Atmospheric-Boundary-Layer-Height Variation over Mountainous and Urban Sites in Beijing as Derived from Radar Wind-Profiler Measurements

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Abstract

The evolution of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) varies greatly with terrain, so that the spatial and temporal variabilities of the ABL height remain poorly understood over complex terrain. Using radar wind-profiler measurements obtained from rural mountainous (Yanqing) and adjoining urban-plain (Haidian) landscapes of Beijing, China in 2019, ABL heights are calculated based on a normalized signal-to-noise-ratio threshold. The seasonally contrasting features of ABL height variation and growth rate over the two sites are revealed for clear-sky conditions. Interestingly, the ABL in spring remains suppressed during the morning and evolves rapidly in the afternoon over Haidian; however, a usual diurnal ABL evolution is observed over Yanqing. During the winter, more rapid evolution of the ABL is observed over Haidian, although on average the daytime ABL height remains less than 800 m above ground level. The growth rate of ABL height is found to undergo a more pronounced seasonal variation over Haidian while being relatively less variable over Yanqing. As expected, the lowest (highest) growth rate of 90 m h−1 (188 m h−1) occurs in winter (summer) over Haidian. The analysis of the seasonal variations in wind profiles reveals deeper insights into the development of the local plain-to-mountain flow circulation over the region and possible implications on the contrasting seasonal ABL variations, particularly during the spring and summer. Additionally, the slower ABL evolution over Haidian in autumn and winter could be associated with an aerosol-induced stable ABL as well as stronger urban heat accumulation. The findings have implications for the better understanding of air pollution meteorology in regions with mountainous terrain.

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Acknowledgements

This work is supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China under Grant 2017YFC1501401, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 41771399. The radar wind profiler data and related meteorological data that support the findings of this study are generously provided by the National Meteorological Information Centre, China Meteorological Administration (http://data.cma.cn/en). We also wish to thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments and suggestions.

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  1. State Key Laboratory of Severe Weather, Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, 100081, China

    Raman Solanki, Jianping Guo, Jian Li, Xiaoran Guo, Yi Han & Yanmin Lv

  2. Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Nainital, Uttarakhand, 263001, India

    Narendra Singh

  3. Hubei Subsurface Multi-Scale Imaging Key Laboratory, Institute of Geophysics and Geomatics, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, 430074, China

    Jian Zhang

  4. State Key Laboratory of Information Engineering in Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China

    Boming Liu

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  1. Raman Solanki
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Solanki, R., Guo, J., Li, J. et al. Atmospheric-Boundary-Layer-Height Variation over Mountainous and Urban Sites in Beijing as Derived from Radar Wind-Profiler Measurements. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 181, 125–144 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-021-00639-9

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