A comparison of urban boundary layer heights as detected by a frequency modulated-continuous wave radar and a collocated SODAR

Frequency modulated-continuous wave (FM/CW) radars have been used for a number of years to investigate the evolution of the convective boundary layer, while SODARs have been used more frequently to measure the velocity of the winds in the lower boundary layer. SODARs can also be used to estimate the boundary layer height by examining the returned signal to noise ratio. During the summer of 2003, the West Desert Test Center deployed a 2.9 GHz FM/CW radar with a collocated AeroVironment SODAR just north of the central business district of Oklahoma City, OK in support of the Joint Urban 2003 urban dispersion experiment. The estimates of the boundary layer height from the two instruments were similar, but the FM/CW radar indicated more easily identifiable structures when the radar’s return signal was not contaminated by insects or precipitation.