The structure of the unstable marine boundary layer viewed by lidar and aircraft observation.

Abstract

The combination of vertical lidar and in situ meteorological observations from two aircraft provide an unprecedented view of the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) during a cold air outbreak. To a first approximation, the lidar reflectivity is associated with the concentration of sea salt aerosols. Across the capping inversion, the lidar reflectivity contours approximate isentropes and streamlines thereby defining the inversion. Within the mixed layer, high reflectivity cores are associated with updrafts carrying aerosol-rich air upward and conversely. The partitioning method of Wilczak and Businger provides improved insight as to the mechanisms responsible for the downward flux in the inversion. -from Authors