Climatology of the planetary boundary layer over the continental United States and Europe

Although boundary layer processes are important in climate, weather and air quality, boundary layer climatology has received little attention, partly for lack of observational data sets. We analyze boundary layer climatology over Europe and the continental U.S. using a measure of boundary layer height based on the bulk Richardson number. Seasonal and diurnal variations during 1981–2005 are estimated from radiosonde observations, a reanalysis that assimilates observations, and two contemporary climate models that do not. Data limitations in vertical profiles introduce height uncertainties that can exceed 50% for shallow boundary layers (<1 km) but are generally <20% for deeper boundary layers. Climatological heights are typically <1 km during daytime and <0.5 km at night over both regions. Seasonal patterns for daytime and nighttime differ; daytime heights are larger in summer than winter, but nighttime heights are larger in winter. The four data sets show similar patterns of spatial and seasonal variability but with biases that vary spatially, seasonally, and diurnally. Compared with radiosonde observations, the reanalysis and the climate models produce deeper layers due to difficulty simulating stable conditions. The higher‐time‐resolution reanalysis reveals the diurnal cycle in height, with maxima in the afternoon, and with amplitudes that vary seasonally (larger in summer) and regionally (larger over western U.S. and southern Europe). The lower‐time‐resolution radiosonde data and climate model simulations capture diurnal variations better over Europe than over the U.S., due to differences in local sampling times.