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A case study of atmospheric boundary layer features during winter over a tropical inland station — Kharagpur (22.32°N, 87.32°E)

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Abstract

The local weather and air quality over a region are greatly influenced by the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) structure and dynamics. ABL characteristics were measured using a tethered balloon-sonde system over Kharagpur (22.32°N, 87.32°E, 40m above MSL), India, for the period 7 December 2004 to 30 December 2004, as a part of the Indian Space Research Organization-Geosphere Biosphere Program (ISRO-GBP) Aerosol Land Campaign II. High-resolution data of pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed and wind direction were archived along with surface layer measurements using an automatic weather station. This paper presents the features of ABL, like ABL depth and nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) depth. The sea surface winds from Quikscat over the oceanic regions near the experiment site were analyzed along with the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis winds over Kharagpur to estimate the convergence of wind, moisture and vorticity to understand the observed variations in wind speed and relative humidity, and also the increased aerosol concentrations. The variation of ventilation coefficient (V C), a factor determining the air pollution potential over a region, is also discussed in detail.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum, 695 022, India

    Denny P. Alappattu, P. K. Kunhikrishnan, Marina Aloysius & M. Mohan

Authors
  1. Denny P. Alappattu
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  2. P. K. Kunhikrishnan
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  3. Marina Aloysius
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  4. M. Mohan
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Correspondence to Denny P. Alappattu.

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Alappattu, D.P., Kunhikrishnan, P.K., Aloysius, M. et al. A case study of atmospheric boundary layer features during winter over a tropical inland station — Kharagpur (22.32°N, 87.32°E). J Earth Syst Sci 118, 281–293 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-009-0028-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-009-0028-3

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