Global mixing height and surface sensible heat flux datasets as determined from the planetary boundary layer energy budget

This study presents a method for determining surface sensible heat flux according to the energy budget equation within the planetary boundary layer. A global monthly dataset at a 2.5 degree resolution over land except for Antarctic, covering the years 1958-1995, is derived. The derived mixing height and surface sensible heat flux are much higher in desert regions than in rainforest regions. Intercomparison of the derived surface sensible heat flux with ERA40 and NCEP-I is conducted. The comparison shows that between this study and the two reanalyses, temporal correlations are >0.6 for 80% of land grids, spatial correlations >0.5 in all the seasons, and mean absolute (MA) differences at approximately 25 W m-2. In addition, in respect to the interannual variability, the correlations are stronger in the southern hemisphere than in the northern hemisphere. The major discrepancies exist in coastal and winter high-latitude areas for their mean states, and in the East Asia for the annual variability.