An observational study of radiation temperature inversions in Fairbanks, Alaska

A series of high resolution radiosonde launches were conducted over seven case-study days spanning spring 2009 and fall/winter 2010 during clear and calm nights at Fairbanks, Alaska to evaluate the effects of solar radiation, snow covered surfaces and low-level winds on the formation and evolution of surface-based temperature inversions (SBI). Transition seasons were selected because strong nighttime radiation cooling allows well-defined inversions to form while sufficient daytime solar heating allows the observation of dissipation processes in the sub-arctic latitudes. During the fall/winter period, co-located Doppler phased array acoustic soundings (SODAR) were carried out. The height of the SBI retrieved by radiosonde and SODAR did not differ more than 50 m. However, the SODAR profiles display a much more complex structure in the atmospheric boundary layer. Observations during this experiment demonstrated that the formation of the SBI is initiated by a rapid cooling at the surface followed by a steady columnar cooling and subsequent growth of the SBI depth overnight.