Abstract
In Wyngaard et al., 1971, a simple model was proposed to estimate Cn 2 in the atmospheric surface layer, which only requires routine meteorological information (wind speed and temperature) as input from two heights. This Cn 2 model is known to have satisfactory performance in unstable conditions; however, in stable conditions, the model only covers a relatively short range of atmospheric stabilities which significantly limits its applicability during nighttime. To mitigate this limitation, in this study we construct a new Cn 2 model utilizing an extensive turbulence dataset generated by a high-fidelity numerical modeling approach (known as direct numerical simulation). The most distinguishing feature of this new Cn 2 model is that it covers a wide range of atmospheric stabilities including the strongly stratified (very stable) conditions. To validate this model, approximately four weeks of Cn 2 data collected at the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii are used for comparison, and reasonably good agreement is found between the observed and estimated values.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 9574-9582 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Optics Express |
Volume | 24 |
Issue number | 9 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2 May 2016 |
Externally published | Yes |