Optimized Estimation of Surface Layer Characteristics from Profiling Measurements

The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/atmos7020014New sampling techniques such as tethered-balloon-based measurements or small unmanned aerial vehicles are capable of providing multiple profiles of the Marine Atmospheric Surface Layer (MASL) in a short time period. It is desirable to obtain surface fluxes from these measurements, especially when direct flux measurements are difficult to obtain. The profiling data is different from the traditional mean profiles obtained at two or more fixed levels in the surface layer from which surface fluxes of momentum, sensible heat, and latent heat are derived based on Monin-Obukhov Similarity Theory (MOST). This research develops an improved method to derive surface fluxes and the corresponding MASL mean profiles of wind, temperature, and humidity with a least-squares optimization method using the profiling measurements. This approach allows the use of all available independent data. We use a weighted cost function based on the framework of MOST with the cost being optimized using a quasi-Newton method. This approach was applied to seven sets of data collected from the Monterey Bay. The derived fluxes and mean profiles show reasonable results. An empirical bias analysis is conducted using 1000 synthetic datasets to evaluate the robustness of the method.Office of Naval Research (ONR) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program for supporting the Coupled Air-sea Processes and Electromagnetic wave ducting Research (CASPER) project under award number N0001415WX00237ONR Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP)Office of Naval Research (ONR) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) program for supporting the Coupled Air-sea Processes and Electromagnetic wave ducting Research (CASPER) project under award number N0001415WX00237ONR Science and Engineering Apprenticeship Program (SEAP