Ceilometer evaluation of the eastern Mediterranean summer boundary layer height – first study of two Israeli sites

Active remote-sensing instruments, such as ceilometers, have been shown to be potentially useful for the investigation of the behavior of the atmospheric mixing layer height (MLH). For the first time ever, high-resolution measurements of backscatter intensity, taken from two CL31 ceilometers situate...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAtmospheric measurement techniques Vol. 9; no. 9; pp. 4387 - 4398
Main Authors Uzan, Leenes, Egert, Smadar, Alpert, Pinhas
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Katlenburg-Lindau Copernicus GmbH 07.09.2016
Copernicus Publications
Subjects
Air pollution
Analysis
Atmospheric aerosols
Atmospheric boundary layer
Atmospheric mixing
Backscatter
Backscattering
Boundary layer height
Boundary layers
Ceilometers
Cloud cover
Cloud thickness
Diurnal
Diurnal cycle
Diurnal variations
Evaluation
Height
Instruments
Mixed layer
Mixed layer height
Noise
Profiles
Radiosondes
Remote sensing
Sea breezes
Summer
Synoptic conditions
Tel Aviv Israel
Israel
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Summary:Active remote-sensing instruments, such as ceilometers, have been shown to be potentially useful for the investigation of the behavior of the atmospheric mixing layer height (MLH). For the first time ever, high-resolution measurements of backscatter intensity, taken from two CL31 ceilometers situated inland and onshore of Israel, have enabled evaluation of the mean diurnal cycle of the MLH in the eastern Mediterranean region. Although the Israeli summer synoptic conditions are considered to be quite stable, results for the summer season (July–August 2014) showed the inland MLH to be about 200 m higher than the MLH at the onshore site, situated only 7.5 km away. The prevailing influence of the sea breeze front (SBF), as it progresses inland, is presented by the ceilometer plots. Complementing results were found between the radiosonde profiles and the adjacent ceilometer at the inland site of Beit Dagan. In contrast to the expected regularity of clear skies during the Israeli summer, the ceilometers revealed significant cloud cover throughout the day, with higher presence onshore. Assessment of cloud thickness in further research would serve to improve the evaluation of the MLH evolution.
ISSN:1867-8548
1867-1381
1867-8548
DOI:10.5194/amt-9-4387-2016