Global climatology of the planetary boundary layer inversions

The Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) also known as the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) or as the Mixing Height (MH), is one of the most interesting parts of the troposphere, because it is where energy, moisture and chemical exchange between the atmosphere and the Earth's surface occur. There are two basic categories of PBL: (1) the unstable PBL in which the vertical mixing occurs readily, and (2) the stable PBL in which the vertical mixing is suppressed. Although the stable PBL has been indentified in many previous studies, there exists no global climatology of the stable PBL. Basing this research on radiosonde observations from more than 800 stations in most parts of the world for the decade 1999-2008, this project seeks to present a global climatology, using surface-based and elevated inversions to identify the stable PBL. This presentation will show global patterns of frequencies of both surface-based and elevated inversions and their seasonal and diurnal variations.