Measuring the boundary layer from space: The subtropical cloudy boundary layer transition

The atmospheric boundary layer is notoriously difficult to observe from space. During the last few years, however, a major revolution has been occurring in the capabilities to measure boundary layer properties with satellite remote sensing instruments. In this presentation the potential of instruments and techniques such as AIRS, CloudSat, CALIPSO, ISCCP, GPS and MISR (among others) in characterizing the subtropical transition from stratocumulus-topped boundary layers to cumulus-topped boundary layers, will be discussed in detail. In particular it will be illustrated how several of the main properties of this transition can be well characterized by satellite observations.