Observation of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer in the Western and Central Gulf of Mexico Final Performance Report

by U.S. Department of the Interior Minerals

For the Gulf of Mexico, present data sets poorly represent how temperature, winds, and mixing height vary vertically over the atmospheric boundary layer and free troposphere. Estimates come from two sources: 1) automated weather stations measuring meteorological variables in the surface layer; and 2) observational satellites sampling the boundary layer and free troposphere at a few select altitudes. Because these techniques generally do not accurately or precisely measure for a range of altitudes, empirical constants and relationships are used to approximate vertical variations in temperature, winds, and other boundary layer properties. However, direct observations more accurately describe vertical variations because the cited estimates contain many assumptions and simplifications