Improving solution availability and temporal consistency of an optimal-estimation physical retrieval for ground-based thermodynamic boundary layer profiling

Abstract

Thermodynamic profiles in the atmospheric boundary layer can be retrieved from ground-based passive remote sensing instruments like infrared spectrometers and microwave radiometers with optimal-estimation physical retrievals. With a high temporal resolution on the order of minutes, these thermodynamic profiles are a powerful tool to study the evolution of the boundary layer and to evaluate numerical models. In this study, we describe three recent modifications to the Tropospheric Remotely Observed Profiling via Optimal Estimation (TROPoe) retrieval framework, which improve the availability of valid solutions for different atmospheric conditions and increase the temporal consistency of the retrieved profiles. We present methods to enhance the availability of valid solutions retrieved from infrared spectrometers by preventing overfitting and by adding information from an additional spectral band in high-moisture environments. We show that the characterization of the uncertainty of the input and the choice of spectral infrared bands are crucial for retrieval performance. Since each profile is retrieved independently from the previous one, the time series of the thermodynamic variables contain random uncorrelated noise, which may hinder the study of diurnal cycles and temporal tendencies. By including a previous retrieved profile as input to the retrieval, we increase the temporal consistency between subsequent profiles without suppressing real mesoscale atmospheric variability. We demonstrate that these modifications work well at midlatitudes, polar and tropical sites, and for retrievals based on infrared spectrometer and microwave radiometer measurements.