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Stability and turbulence in the atmospheric boundary layer: A comparison of remote sensing and tower observations
Author(s) -
Friedrich Katja,
Lundquist Julie K.,
Aitken Matthew,
Kalina Evan A.,
Marshall Robert F.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2011gl050413
Subject(s) - planetary boundary layer , environmental science , remote sensing , radiometer , lidar , tower , meteorology , wind speed , microwave radiometer , atmospheric instability , instrumentation (computer programming) , humidity , wind direction , terrain , wind profile power law , turbulence , geology , physics , computer science , geography , cartography , archaeology , operating system
When monitoring winds and atmospheric stability for wind energy applications, remote sensing instruments present some advantages to in‐situ instrumentation such as larger vertical extent, in some cases easy installation and maintenance, measurements of vertical humidity profiles throughout the boundary layer, and no restrictions on prevailing wind directions. In this study, we compare remote sensing devices, Windcube lidar and microwave radiometer, to meteorological in‐situ tower measurements to demonstrate the accuracy of these measurements and to assess the utility of the remote sensing instruments in overcoming tower limitations. We compare temperature and wind observations, as well as calculations of Brunt‐Väisälä frequency and Richardson numbers for the instrument deployment period in May–June 2011 at the U.S. Department of Energy National Renewable Energy Laboratory's National Wind Technology Center near Boulder, Colorado. The study reveals that a lidar and radiometer measure wind and temperature with the same accuracy as tower instruments, while also providing advantages for monitoring stability and turbulence. We demonstrate that the atmospheric stability is determined more accurately when the liquid‐water mixing ratio derived from the vertical humidity profile is considered under moist‐adiabatic conditions.