Atmospheric boundary layer heights estimated from radiosonde observations in the
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its downstream areas
XU Guirong1, CUI Chunguang1, ZHOU Zhimin1, ZHANG Bing1, LI Yueqing2, ZHAO Xingbing2
1. Hubei Key Laboratory for Heavy Rain Monitoring and Warning Research, Institute of Heavy Rain, China Meteorological Administration,
Wuhan 430074; 2. Institute of Plateau Meteorology, China Meteorological Administration, Chengdu 610072
Abstract：
The purpose of this study is to investigate the characteristics of atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) height in the Qinghai-Tibet
Plateau (QTP) and its downstream areas. Using the measurements of three radiosonde intensive observation field experiments, the convective
boundary layer (CBL) and stable boundary layer (SBL) heights are determined with the parcel method and Richardson number method, respectively.
The results show that CBL structures appear more frequently in the central QTP than in the eastern QTP and its downstream areas,
and SBL structures appear more frequently in the Sichuan Basin than in the QTP and the middle Yangtze River Valley (YRV). The CBL
heights in the central and eastern QTP are higher in spring than in summer, and the CBL height in the central QTP is higher than that in the
eastern QTP. In the Sichuan Basin and middle YRV, the CBL heights are higher in summer than in winter, but the opposite is true for the
eastern QTP. Moreover, the CBL height in the Sichuan Basin is lower than that in the middle YRV. For SBL situations, the SBL height in the
QTP is higher in spring than in summer. In winter the SBL height in the Sichuan Basin is higher than those in the eastern QTP and middle
YRV, and in summer the SBL height in the middle YRV is higher than those in the eastern QTP and Sichuan Basin. The SBL height difference
between summer and winter is larger in the middle YRV and smaller in the eastern QTP, while it in the Sichuan Basin is in between. In
the eastern QTP and its downstream areas, the mean ABL height is larger in daytime and smaller at nighttime; meanwhile, in the central QTP,
it is small at sunrise and then increases till nighttime. Furthermore, the
.2014. Atmospheric boundary layer heights estimated from radiosonde observations in the
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its downstream areas[J].
Torrential Rain and Disasters, 33(3): 217-227.
