Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Aspects of Convective Boundary Layer Turbulence Measured by a Dual-Doppler Lidar System

Luisa Röhner Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-TRO), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany

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Katja Träumner Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK-TRO), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Karlsruhe, Germany

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Print Publication:
01 Sep 2013
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-12-00193.1
Page(s):
2132–2142
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Abstract

Special designed dual-Doppler setups can be used to retrieve simultaneous measurements of two wind components with high temporal resolution in several heights throughout the atmospheric boundary layer. During a field campaign in summer 2011, different scan strategies were performed to demonstrate the opportunities of obtaining variance profiles of the vertical and horizontal wind components in complex terrain. A simplified error analysis reveals the effects of the error propagation of the uncorrelated noise of the single lidar systems. A comparison shows that the course of the derived horizontal wind component is in accordance to in situ measurements. The dual-Doppler vertical wind velocity reflects the up- and downdrafts in a convective boundary layer and is even able to reflect a light rain event. The normalized profiles of the vertical velocity variances reproduce the well-known decrease from about one-third of the boundary layer height to its top. The horizontal velocity variance did not reveal a systematic behavior on the considered days.

Corresponding author address: Luisa Röhner, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK), Wolfgang-Gaede-Weg 1, D-76131 Karlsruhe, Germany. E-mail: luisa.roehner@kit.edu

Abstract

Special designed dual-Doppler setups can be used to retrieve simultaneous measurements of two wind components with high temporal resolution in several heights throughout the atmospheric boundary layer. During a field campaign in summer 2011, different scan strategies were performed to demonstrate the opportunities of obtaining variance profiles of the vertical and horizontal wind components in complex terrain. A simplified error analysis reveals the effects of the error propagation of the uncorrelated noise of the single lidar systems. A comparison shows that the course of the derived horizontal wind component is in accordance to in situ measurements. The dual-Doppler vertical wind velocity reflects the up- and downdrafts in a convective boundary layer and is even able to reflect a light rain event. The normalized profiles of the vertical velocity variances reproduce the well-known decrease from about one-third of the boundary layer height to its top. The horizontal velocity variance did not reveal a systematic behavior on the considered days.

Corresponding author address: Luisa Röhner, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK), Wolfgang-Gaede-Weg 1, D-76131 Karlsruhe, Germany. E-mail: luisa.roehner@kit.edu
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Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

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