Boundary Layer Height Estimation by Sodar and Sonic Anemometer Measurements.

In this paper an analysis of different methods for the calculation of the boundary layer height (BLH) using sodar and ultrasonic anemometer measurements is presented. All the methods used are based on single point surface measurements. In particular the automatic spectral routine developed for Remtech sodar is compared with the results obtained with the parameterization of the vertical velocity variance, with the calculation of a prognostic model and with a parameterization based on horizontal velocity spectra. Results indicate that in unstable conditions the different methods provide similar pattern, with BLH relatively low, even if the parameterization of the vertical velocity variance is affected by a large scatter that limits its efficiency in evaluating the BLH. In stable nocturnal conditions the performances of the Remtech routine are lower with respect to the ones in unstable conditions. The spectral method, applied to sodar or sonic anemometer data, seems to be the most promising in order to develop an efficient routine for BLH determination.