Articles | Volume 18, issue 14
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3453-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-18-3453-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
28 Jul 2025
Research article |
| 28 Jul 2025
| 28 Jul 2025
Best estimate of the planetary boundary layer height from multiple remote sensing measurements
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
Jennifer Comstock
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
Chitra Sivaraman
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
Kefei Mo
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
Raghavendra Krishnamurthy
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
Jingjing Tian
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, Washington, USA
Tianning Su
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA, USA
Zhanqing Li
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, USA
Natalia Roldán-Henao
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, USA
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Lindsay M. Sheridan, Raghu Krishnamurthy, Gabriel García Medina, Brian J. Gaudet, William I. Gustafson Jr., Alicia M. Mahon, William J. Shaw, Rob K. Newsom, Mikhail Pekour, and Zhaoqing Yang
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Atmos. Meas. Tech., 15, 4735–4749, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4735-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4735-2022, 2022
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Snowfall is an important climate indicator. However, microphysical snowfall processes are challenging for atmospheric models. In this study, the performance of a regional climate model is evaluated in modeling the spatial and temporal distribution of Arctic snowfall when compared to CloudSat satellite observations. Excellent agreement in averaged annual snowfall rates is found, and the shown methodology offers a promising diagnostic tool to investigate the shown differences further.
Yun Lin, Jiwen Fan, Pengfei Li, Lai-yung Ruby Leung, Paul J. DeMott, Lexie Goldberger, Jennifer Comstock, Ying Liu, Jong-Hoon Jeong, and Jason Tomlinson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 6749–6771, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6749-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6749-2022, 2022
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How sea spray aerosols may affect cloud and precipitation over the region by acting as ice-nucleating particles (INPs) is unknown. We explored the effects of INPs from marine aerosols on orographic cloud and precipitation for an atmospheric river event observed during the 2015 ACAPEX field campaign. The marine INPs enhance the formation of ice and snow, leading to less shallow warm clouds but more mixed-phase and deep clouds. This work suggests models need to consider the impacts of marine INPs.
Lu Chen, Fang Zhang, Dongmei Zhang, Xinming Wang, Wei Song, Jieyao Liu, Jingye Ren, Sihui Jiang, Xue Li, and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 6773–6786, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6773-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-6773-2022, 2022
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Aerosol hygroscopicity is critical when evaluating its effect on visibility and climate. Here, the size-resolved particle hygroscopicity at five sites in China is characterized using field measurements. We show the distinct behavior of hygroscopic particles during pollution evolution among the five sites. Moreover, different hygroscopic behavior during NPF events were also observed. The dataset is helpful for understanding the spatial variability in particle composition and formation mechanisms.
Xing Yan, Zhou Zang, Zhanqing Li, Nana Luo, Chen Zuo, Yize Jiang, Dan Li, Yushan Guo, Wenji Zhao, Wenzhong Shi, and Maureen Cribb
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 1193–1213, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1193-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-1193-2022, 2022
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This study developed a new satellite-based global land daily FMF dataset (Phy-DL FMF) by synergizing the advantages of physical and deep learning methods at a 1° spatial resolution by covering the period from 2001 to 2020. The Phy-DL FMF was extensively evaluated against ground-truth AERONET data and tested on a global scale against conventional satellite-based FMF products to demonstrate its superiority in accuracy.
Lu Chen, Fang Zhang, Don Collins, Jingye Ren, Jieyao Liu, Sihui Jiang, and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2293–2307, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2293-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-2293-2022, 2022
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Understanding the volatility and mixing state of atmospheric aerosols is important for elucidating their formation. Here, the size-resolved volatility of fine particles is characterized using field measurements. On average, the particles are more volatile in the summer. The retrieved mixing state shows that black carbon (BC)-containing particles dominate and contribute 67–77 % toward the total number concentration in the winter, while the non-BC particles accounted for 52–69 % in the summer.
Tianning Su, Youtong Zheng, and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 1453–1466, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1453-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-1453-2022, 2022
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To enrich our understanding of coupling of continental clouds, we developed a novel methodology to determine cloud coupling state from a lidar and a suite of surface meteorological instruments. This method is built upon advancement in our understanding of fundamental boundary layer processes and clouds. As the first remote sensing method for determining the coupling state of low clouds over land, this methodology paves a solid ground for further investigating the coupled land–atmosphere system.
Matthew W. Christensen, Andrew Gettelman, Jan Cermak, Guy Dagan, Michael Diamond, Alyson Douglas, Graham Feingold, Franziska Glassmeier, Tom Goren, Daniel P. Grosvenor, Edward Gryspeerdt, Ralph Kahn, Zhanqing Li, Po-Lun Ma, Florent Malavelle, Isabel L. McCoy, Daniel T. McCoy, Greg McFarquhar, Johannes Mülmenstädt, Sandip Pal, Anna Possner, Adam Povey, Johannes Quaas, Daniel Rosenfeld, Anja Schmidt, Roland Schrödner, Armin Sorooshian, Philip Stier, Velle Toll, Duncan Watson-Parris, Robert Wood, Mingxi Yang, and Tianle Yuan
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 641–674, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-641-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-641-2022, 2022
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Trace gases and aerosols (tiny airborne particles) are released from a variety of point sources around the globe. Examples include volcanoes, industrial chimneys, forest fires, and ship stacks. These sources provide opportunistic experiments with which to quantify the role of aerosols in modifying cloud properties. We review the current state of understanding on the influence of aerosol on climate built from the wide range of natural and anthropogenic laboratories investigated in recent decades.
Jianping Guo, Jian Zhang, Kun Yang, Hong Liao, Shaodong Zhang, Kaiming Huang, Yanmin Lv, Jia Shao, Tao Yu, Bing Tong, Jian Li, Tianning Su, Steve H. L. Yim, Ad Stoffelen, Panmao Zhai, and Xiaofeng Xu
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 17079–17097, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17079-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17079-2021, 2021
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The planetary boundary layer (PBL) is the lowest part of the troposphere, and boundary layer height (BLH) is the depth of the PBL and is of critical importance to the dispersion of air pollution. The study presents the first near-global BLH climatology by using high-resolution (5-10 m) radiosonde measurements. The variations in BLH exhibit large spatial and temporal dependence, with a peak at 17:00 local solar time. The most promising reanalysis product is ERA-5 in terms of modeling BLH.
Sihui Jiang, Fang Zhang, Jingye Ren, Lu Chen, Xing Yan, Jieyao Liu, Yele Sun, and Zhanqing Li
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 14293–14308, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14293-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-14293-2021, 2021
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New particle formation (NPF) can be a large source of CCN and affect weather and climate. Here we show that the NPF contributes largely to cloud droplet number concentration (Nd) but is suppressed at high particle number concentrations in Beijing due to water vapor competition. We also reveal a considerable impact of primary sources on the evaluation in the urban atmosphere. Our study has great significance for assessing NPF-associated effects on climate in polluted regions.
Rongmin Ren, Zhanqing Li, Peng Yan, Yuying Wang, Hao Wu, Maureen Cribb, Wei Wang, Xiao'ai Jin, Yanan Li, and Dongmei Zhang
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 9977–9994, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9977-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-9977-2021, 2021
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We analyzed the effect of the proportion of components making up the chemical composition of aerosols on f(RH) in southern Beijing in 2019. Nitrate played a more significant role in affecting f(RH) than sulfate. The ratio of the sulfate mass fraction to the nitrate mass fraction (mostly higher than ~ 4) was a sign of the deliquescence of aerosol. A piecewise parameterized scheme was proposed, which could better describe deliquescence and reduce uncertainties in simulating aerosol hygroscopicity.
Raghavendra Krishnamurthy, Rob K. Newsom, Larry K. Berg, Heng Xiao, Po-Lun Ma, and David D. Turner
Atmos. Meas. Tech., 14, 4403–4424, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4403-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-4403-2021, 2021
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Planetary boundary layer (PBL) height is a critical parameter in atmospheric models. Continuous PBL height measurements from remote sensing measurements are important to understand various boundary layer mechanisms, especially during daytime and evening transition periods. Due to several limitations in existing methodologies to detect PBL height from a Doppler lidar, in this study, a machine learning (ML) approach is tested. The ML model is observed to improve the accuracy by over 50 %.
Jing Wei, Zhanqing Li, Rachel T. Pinker, Jun Wang, Lin Sun, Wenhao Xue, Runze Li, and Maureen Cribb
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 7863–7880, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7863-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-7863-2021, 2021
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This study developed a space-time Light Gradient Boosting Machine (STLG) model to derive the high-temporal-resolution (1 h) and high-quality PM2.5 dataset in China (i.e., ChinaHighPM2.5) at a 5 km spatial resolution from the Himawari-8 Advanced Himawari Imager aerosol products. Our model outperforms most previous related studies with a much lower computation burden in terms of speed and memory, making it most suitable for real-time air pollution monitoring in China.
Tianmeng Chen, Zhanqing Li, Ralph A. Kahn, Chuanfeng Zhao, Daniel Rosenfeld, Jianping Guo, Wenchao Han, and Dandan Chen
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 6199–6220, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6199-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-6199-2021, 2021
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A convective cloud identification process is developed using geostationary satellite data from Himawari-8.
Convective cloud fraction is generally larger before noon and smaller in the afternoon under polluted conditions, but megacities and complex topography can influence the pattern.
A robust relationship between convective cloud and aerosol loading is found. This pattern varies with terrain height and is modulated by varying thermodynamic, dynamical, and humidity conditions during the day.
Daniel Vassallo, Raghavendra Krishnamurthy, and Harindra J. S. Fernando
Wind Energ. Sci., 6, 295–309, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-6-295-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/wes-6-295-2021, 2021
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Machine learning is quickly becoming a commonly used technique for wind speed and power forecasting and is especially useful when combined with other forecasting techniques. This study utilizes a popular machine learning algorithm, random forest, in an attempt to predict the forecasting error of a statistical forecasting model. Various atmospheric characteristics are used as random forest inputs in an effort to discern the most useful atmospheric information for this purpose.
Yuwei Zhang, Jiwen Fan, Zhanqing Li, and Daniel Rosenfeld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 2363–2381, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2363-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2363-2021, 2021
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Impacts of anthropogenic aerosols on deep convective clouds (DCCs) and precipitation are examined using both the Morrison bulk and spectral bin microphysics (SBM) schemes. With the SBM scheme, anthropogenic aerosols notably invigorate convective intensity and precipitation, causing better agreement between the simulated DCCs and observations; this effect is absent with the Morrison scheme, mainly due to limitations of the saturation adjustment approach for droplet condensation and evaporation.
Yuying Wang, Zhanqing Li, Qiuyan Wang, Xiaoai Jin, Peng Yan, Maureen Cribb, Yanan Li, Cheng Yuan, Hao Wu, Tong Wu, Rongmin Ren, and Zhaoxin Cai
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 915–926, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-915-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-915-2021, 2021
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The unexpected increase in surface ozone concentration was found along with the reduced anthropogenic emissions during the 2019 Chinese Spring Festival in Beijing. The enhanced atmospheric oxidation capacity could promote the formation of secondary aerosols, especially sulfate, which offset the decrease in PM2.5 mass concentration. This phenomenon was likely to exist throughout the entire Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei (BTH) region to be a contributing factor to the haze during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Johannes Quaas, Antti Arola, Brian Cairns, Matthew Christensen, Hartwig Deneke, Annica M. L. Ekman, Graham Feingold, Ann Fridlind, Edward Gryspeerdt, Otto Hasekamp, Zhanqing Li, Antti Lipponen, Po-Lun Ma, Johannes Mülmenstädt, Athanasios Nenes, Joyce E. Penner, Daniel Rosenfeld, Roland Schrödner, Kenneth Sinclair, Odran Sourdeval, Philip Stier, Matthias Tesche, Bastiaan van Diedenhoven, and Manfred Wendisch
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 15079–15099, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15079-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-15079-2020, 2020
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Anthropogenic pollution particles – aerosols – serve as cloud condensation nuclei and thus increase cloud droplet concentration and the clouds' reflection of sunlight (a cooling effect on climate). This Twomey effect is poorly constrained by models and requires satellite data for better quantification. The review summarizes the challenges in properly doing so and outlines avenues for progress towards a better use of aerosol retrievals and better retrievals of droplet concentrations.
Sarah E. Benish, Hao He, Xinrong Ren, Sandra J. Roberts, Ross J. Salawitch, Zhanqing Li, Fei Wang, Yuying Wang, Fang Zhang, Min Shao, Sihua Lu, and Russell R. Dickerson
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14523–14545, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14523-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14523-2020, 2020
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Airborne observations of ozone and related pollutants show smog was pervasive in spring 2016 over Hebei Province, China. We find high amounts of ozone precursors throughout and even above the PBL, continuing to generate ozone at high rates to be potentially transported downwind. Concentrations even in the rural areas of this highly industrialized province promote widespread ozone production, and we show that to improve air quality over Hebei both NOx and VOCs should be targeted.
Jiwen Fan, Yuwei Zhang, Zhanqing Li, Jiaxi Hu, and Daniel Rosenfeld
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 14163–14182, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14163-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-14163-2020, 2020
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We investigate the urbanization-induced land and aerosol impacts on convective clouds and precipitation over Houston. We find that Houston urbanization notably enhances storm intensity and precipitation, with the anthropogenic aerosol effect more significant. Urban land effect strengthens sea-breeze circulation, leading to a faster development of warm cloud into mixed-phase cloud and earlier rain. The anthropogenic aerosol effect accelerates the development of storms into deep convection.
Pengguo Zhao, Zhanqing Li, Hui Xiao, Fang Wu, Youtong Zheng, Maureen C. Cribb, Xiaoai Jin, and Yunjun Zhou
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 13379–13397, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13379-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-20-13379-2020, 2020
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We discussed the different aerosol effects on lightning in plateau and basin regions of Sichuan, southwestern China. In the plateau area, the aerosol concentration is low, and aerosols (via microphysical effects) inhibit the process of warm rain and stimulate convection and lightning activity. In the basin region, however, aerosols tend to show a significant radiative effect (reducing the solar radiation reaching the surface by absorbing and scattering) and inhibit the lightning.
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Short summary
Planetary boundary layer height (PBLHT) is an important parameter in atmospheric process studies and numerical model simulations. We use machine learning methods to produce a best-estimate planetary boundary layer height (PBLHT-BE-ML) by integrating four PBLHT estimates derived from remote sensing measurements. We demonstrated that PBLHT-BE-ML greatly improved the comparisons against sounding-derived PBLHT.
Planetary boundary layer height (PBLHT) is an important parameter in atmospheric process studies...
