Speidel et al. (2026) Water vapor measurements throughout the planetary boundary layer (PBL) with the ATMONSYS DIAL: From short-term variability to the calculation of vertical fluxes

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Identification

• Journal: Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology)
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-04-09
• Authors: Johannes Speidel, Hannes Vogelmann, Matthias Perfahl
• DOI: 10.1051/epjconf/202636206004/pdf

Research Groups

Not specified in the provided text.

Short Summary

This paper introduces and characterizes the ATMONSYS DIAL system for water vapor measurements, demonstrating its capability to capture vertical latent heat fluxes when combined with Doppler wind lidars, quantifying short-term humidity variability in the Planetary Boundary Layer, and highlighting significant drift issues in radiosonde measurements.

Objective

• To present and characterize the capabilities of the newly developed ATMONSYS DIAL system for water vapor measurements.
• To demonstrate the system's ability, in combination with Doppler wind lidars, to capture vertical fluxes of latent heat.
• To investigate and quantify the natural short-term relative variability of humidity within the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL).
• To conduct an extended intercomparison of humidity lidars and radiosondes to assess measurement consistency and potential implications of radiosonde drift.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL).
• Temporal Scale: Short-term.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not applicable (instrumental systems used).
• Data sources:
  • ATMONSYS DIAL system (newly developed)
  • Doppler wind lidars (used in combination with ATMONSYS DIAL)
  • Three humidity lidars (for intercomparison)
  • Radiosondes (for intercomparison)

Main Results

• The ATMONSYS DIAL system, when combined with Doppler wind lidars, is capable of capturing vertical fluxes of latent heat.
• A substantial natural short-term relative variability of humidity inside the Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) of approximately 20% was observed.
• An extended intercomparison of humidity lidars and radiosondes revealed that the drift of radiosondes can have substantial implications for humidity measurements.

Contributions

• Introduction and characterization of the novel ATMONSYS DIAL system for water vapor measurements.
• Demonstration of a method to capture vertical latent heat fluxes by combining DIAL and Doppler wind lidar data.
• Quantification of natural short-term humidity variability (~20%) within the Planetary Boundary Layer.
• Highlighting the significant implications of radiosonde drift through a comprehensive intercomparison with lidar systems.

Funding

Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Speidel2026Water,
  author = {Speidel, Johannes and Vogelmann, Hannes and Perfahl, Matthias},
  title = {Water vapor measurements throughout the planetary boundary layer (PBL) with the ATMONSYS DIAL: From short-term variability to the calculation of vertical fluxes},
  journal = {Springer Link (Chiba Institute of Technology)},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1051/epjconf/202636206004/pdf},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1051/epjconf/202636206004/pdf}
}