Vertical Structure of the Coastal Atmospheric Boundary Layer Based on Terra/MODIS Data

Micrometeorlogical and upper air observation have been conducted in order to determine the atmospheric boundary layer depth based on data from satellite and automatic weather systems. Terra/MODIS temperature profiles and sensible heat fluxes from the gradient method were used to estimate the mixed layer height over a coastal region. Results of the integral model were in good agreement with the mixed layer height observed using GPS radiosonde at Wolsung (, ). Since the variation of the mixed layer height depends on the surface sensible heat flux, the integral model estimated properly the mixed layer height in the daytime. The buoyant heat flux, which is more important than the sensible heat flux in the coastal region, must be taken into consideration to improve the integral model. The vertical structure of atmospheric boundary layer can be analyzed only with the routine data and the satellite data.