Determination of the Mixing Layer Height Over two Sites, Using Pilot Balloons During the MILAGRO Campaign

Among the mechanisms that affect air quality there is a variety of meteorological processes. An important process in this context are the changes in the mixing layer height during a day and over the year. The mixing layer height is the portion of the atmosphere close to the surface layer where air pollutants get diluted, without leaving this layer. Therefore, it is important to describe the variations in the height of the mixing layer, i.e. the vertical dilution of air pollution, since this is a process mitigating naturally the impact of emissions. There exist different methods to obtain information on the mixing layer height, among them radio soundings, the application of vertical wind profilers, and launching pilot balloons. In this study, pilot balloons have been used simultaneously over two sites of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area during the MILAGRO campaign in March 2006. The objective was to determine the vertical wind profiles and derive information on the mixing layer height. Daily, four pilot balloons were launched, at 9:00, 12:00, 15:00, and 18:00 hours, over Tenango del Aire (a rural area in the Southeast of Mexico City), and over Ciudad Universitaria, in the Southern metropolitan area. At some occasions, night time measurements have been carried out at 21:00 and 24:00. A variability of the diurnal evolution of the mixing layer was observed along March, which could be related to surface temperature. The diurnal evolution showed a sudden growth of the mixing layer between 9:00 and 12:00 hours. Data intercomparisons were carried out for pilot balloons versus radio soundings during a few days at a third site, Tula, in the North of Mexico City. Both intercomparisons showed that pilot balloons are an effective method to obtain information about the development of the mixing layer.