An Experimental study of the wind vector, the temperature structure and the stability class of the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer using an Acoustic Sounder

In the frame of the CBLAST-Low project the main characteristics of the vertical structure of the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL) up to the height of 600m was examined using both remote and in situ sensing instrumentation at the southern coast of the Nantucket Island, MA, USA, during the summer of 2003. During the experimental campaign, observations of the vertical structure of the MABL indicated the development, very frequently, of a Low-Level Jet (LLJ) at low heights, associated with very stable atmospheric conditions, characterized the first 150m followed by slight stable to neutral conditions at higher levels. Characteristics of the LLJ related to the echo strength (analogue to the temperature structure parameter CT 2 ), the stability class and the wind vector calculated by the Acoustic Sounder (SODAR) are presented.