An assessment of the role of surface sensible heat flux and the atmosphere inversion on the breakup time in a highly complex terrain

An assessment of the role of surface sensible heat flux and the atmosphere inversion on the breakup time in a highly complex terrain | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article An assessment of the role of surface sensible heat flux and the atmosphere inversion on the breakup time in a highly complex terrain Laura Herrera-Mejía, Carlos D. Hoyos, Mathias W. Rotach This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8961315/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The life cycle of the stable boundary layer (SBL) strongly modulates air quality in urban valleys embedded in complex terrain. We investigate inversion-breakup timing in a narrow tropical-Andean valley using a process-oriented observational energy-budget framework. The framework combines proxies for the energy required to erode nocturnal stability ($Q_{req}$) and the energy supplied to the valley atmosphere by surface sensible heat flux ($Q_{prov}$). $Q_{req}$ is derived from lower-tropospheric thermodynamic stability metrics obtained from continuous microwave-radiometer profiles, while $Q_{prov}$ is estimated from time-integrated eddy-covariance sensible heat flux. Additional in situ and remote-sensing observations are used to characterize boundary-layer structure, winds, and PM2.5 variability. Results show a non-linear $Q_{req}$--$Q_{prov}$ relationship and regime-dependent heating efficiency, with nearly linear behavior in most cases and a rapid increase of $Q_{prov}$ at high $Q_{req}$ in less efficient regimes. Elevated wind shear near the top of the SBL is associated with earlier erosion for lower $Q_{prov}$, indicating a relevant role of mechanically generated turbulence. Regional convective-cloud forcing, diagnosed from velocity-potential and OLR anomalies, further modulates breakup timing through radiative effects. Later breakup is consistently linked to higher PM2.5 burden and more frequent same-day accumulation. Stable boundary layer inversion breakup complex terrain urban meteorology PM2.5 tropical Andes Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 08 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 07 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 30 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 25 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 25 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 25 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 25 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 24 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8961315","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":597357265,"identity":"4bc767be-44f8-4ab0-b252-cb612795e22f","order_by":0,"name":"Laura Herrera-Mejía","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA4ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYBACPgkYi70BSBQA8QECWtjgWnhASg1I0iKRQKwW6eZjnysq7snrznxj9uCHAYMc340Exg8f8GmROZY888yZYsNtt3PMDXsMGIwlbyQwS87A67AcY8bGtgRGoBYzCR4DhsQNNxLYmHnwasn/zNj4L8F+280zZpJ/DBjqidCSw8zY2JCQuO0Gj5k00JYEA8Ja0owZG44lJG87k1YmLWMgYTjzzMNmvH7hl0h+zNhQk2C77fjhbZJvKmzk+Y4nH8QbYugAFE2MDSRoGAWjYBSMglGADQAAKTVHFmKQIeIAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Universidad Nacional de Colombia","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Laura","middleName":"","lastName":"Herrera-Mejía","suffix":""},{"id":597357266,"identity":"1cdfd5ff-30c8-4435-8402-6f877d61de9f","order_by":1,"name":"Carlos D. 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