Typically, National Weather Service (NWS) smoke management forecast products will estimate the mixing height by the so-called parcel method. This method considers turbulence related only to buoyancy. When a parcel is lifted adiabatically from the surface, the point at which it intersects the ambient temperature profile, or where it becomes cooler than its surroundings, is the mixing height. Usually the maximum daily temperature is used as the parcel’s starting temperature and its adiabatic lapse rate is compared with the afternoon (0000 UTC) sounding profile. Conversely, the minimum daily temperature is used to compare with the morning (1200 UTC) raob for calculating morning mixing heights. If an elevated inversion (see next section) occurs before this height is reached, the height of the inversion base would determine the mixing height. If a surface inversion exists, then its top marks the mixing height. For example, the mixing height in figure7.3 is at the top of the surface-based inversion at about 750 mb (approximately 2,400 meters or 7,800 feet above ground level).
Instead of approximating a mixing depth, physical calculations of the PBL are possible
through numerical meteorological models. These calculations are more precise than the parcel method because they consider turbulence generated by wind shear as well as buoyancy.Each prognostic model, however, may calculate the PBL slightly differently as some functions are approximated while others are explicitly derived to enhance computational efficiency and the vertical resolution, which varies between models, affect PBL calculations.