Extensive Study of Planetary Boundary Layer Height in Paso Del Norte Region Using CALIPSO Satellite, Ground Based Ceilometer, Radiosonde Measurement and Numerical Weather Prediction Models

Planetary Boundary layer plays an important role in determining the dispersion and concentration of different aerosols and pollutants. This study presents an extensive analysis of the Planetary Boundary Layer Height (PBLH) for the Paso del Norte (PdN) region. PBLHs were retrieved using an in-house boundary layer detection algorithm. Inter-comparison of PBLHs were made using ground-based Ceilometer and CALIPSO satellite's data and those values were then compared with the radiosonde's vertical profiles. This inter-comparison were performed for different seasons throughout the year. Furthermore, simulations of numerical weather prediction model like Weather and Research Forecast (WRF) and The Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model (HYSPLIT) were also used to retrieve the PBLH values using different physics scheme and meteorological datasets. In general, it was found that a good agreement between different methods and techniques of PBLH detection is during certain seasons, whereas the limitations of each one of the mentioned methods were also examined.