Abstract:
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.
