The new pbl_met: an open-source library for building meteorological processors and advanced data processing tools

This paper presents the pbl_met, an open-source library for processing meteorological data collected in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) using conventional and modern sensors (examples of the latter include three-axial ultrasonic anemometers, SODAR/RASS, and wind-sensing LIDARs). The routines present in the pbl_met encompass the estimation of meteorological quantities (including global and net radiation and turbulence), the processing of ultrasonic anemometer raw data streams, the approximation of mixing height, and various facets of meteorological data management, summarization, and cleaning. The existence in pbl_met of estimation routines of diverse types allows to construct estimation paths of different depths, permitting the crafting of meteorological processors tailored to the data available. The overall quality of results obtained using estimation paths of differing depths has been investigated in a test case. Important differences have been observed, especially in mixing height, illustrating in the same time the wide range of processing options permitted by the pbl_met and the importance to select the best ones according to the data actually available; as some of the options allow the direct use of data from modern sensors, the pbl_met can be used as a platform for building next-generation meteorological processors for dispersion modeling applications. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42865-021-00042-9.