Abstract

A simple physics-based method for estimating optical turbulence ($C_n^2$) within the surface layer over snow and ice is proposed, using the Tatarski equation with an improved outer scale model. This improved outer scale model mainly requires the calculation of the wind shear and temperature gradients. Based on the measurements from a mobile polar atmospheric parameter measurement system at the Antarctic Taishan Station in 2014, $C_n^2$ was estimated using two methods: the Tatarski equation and the Monin–Obukhov similarity (MOS) theory. Compared with 16 days of measurements from a micro-thermometer, the correlation coefficient of ${\log _{10}}({C_n^2})$ estimated by the Tatarski equation is 0.72, which is a slightly more accurate $C_n^2$ variation in trend and magnitude than the MOS theory. The results suggest that this simple method has potential value for the forecasting applications of optical turbulence.

© 2021 Optical Society of America

Estimation of behavior of optical turbulence during summer in the surface layer above the Antarctic Plateau using the Polar WRF model

Qike Yang, Xiaoqing Wu, Yajuan Han, and Chun Qing
Appl. Opt. 60(14) 4084-4094 (2021)

Estimating the surface layer refractive index structure constant over snow and sea ice using Monin-Obukhov similarity theory with a mesoscale atmospheric model

Chun Qing, Xiaoqing Wu, Honghua Huang, Qiguo Tian, Wenyue Zhu, Ruizhong Rao, and Xuebin Li
Opt. Express 24(18) 20424-20436 (2016)

Estimating Cn² over snow and sea ice from meteorological data

Edgar L Andreas
J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 5(4) 481-495 (1988)

Model for estimating the astronomical seeing at Dome A, Antarctica

Qike Yang, Xiaoqing Wu, Yajuan Han, Chun Qing, Su Wu, Changdong Su, Pengfei Wu, and Shitai Zhang
Opt. Express 29(22) 35238-35246 (2021)

Adaptive niche-genetic algorithm based on backpropagation neural network for atmospheric turbulence forecasting

Changdong Su, Xiaoqing Wu, Tao Luo, Su Wu, and Chun Qing
Appl. Opt. 59(12) 3699-3705 (2020)