Sodar studies of the mixing height in the arabian gulf coast region

Abstract EN

This study was conducted, at a coastal location in Northeastern Saudi Arabia for one complete year (1995), to measure the mixing height using a Doppler acoustic sounder called Sonic Detection And Ranging (sodar) System.

Sodar is an exceptionally effective tool for making atmospheric measurements and provides continuous record of the atmospheric thermal structure of the lower troposphere.

The mixing height, also called the planetary boundary layer height (PBLH), within this region was found to be quite low during the summer months in association with the Arabian heat (thermal) low and high during the inter-seasonal months.

Comparisons between measured and estimated mixing heights were also made in this paper.

It is concluded that estimated mixing heights are found to be higher than the measured ones.

This paper also presents the meteorological parameters (daily mean surface pressure and temperature values only) with respect to the mixing height, which were measured at the Dhahran meteorological station.