Statistical analysis of boundary layer heights in a suburban environment

The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is characterized by the turbulence eddies that transport heat, momentum, gaseous constituents and particulate matter from Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and vice versa. Thus, the determination of its height has a great importance in a wide range of applications like air quality forecasting and management. This study aims at estimating the height of the ABL in a suburban environment and at investigating its temporal variation and its relationship with meteorological variables, like temperature and wind. For this purpose, radiosonde data from the suburban area of Thessaloniki, Greece, are analyzed. The data analysis reveals that ABL height is usually below 200 m in the morning hours during all seasons of the year and that is also low when near-surface temperature and wind speed are low too. Additionally, noon ABL height exhibits a strong seasonal variation, reaching higher values during summer than during winter.Very high values of ABL height, of the order of ~3,000 m, are occasionally observed in Thessaloniki during summer. Moreover, sea breeze development during summer is related to a slight reduction of the ABL height.