Parametric modeling of mixed-layer turbulent structures based on sounding data

Area of Science:

• Atmospheric boundary layer research
• Optical turbulence characterization
• Geophysical sciences

Background:

• Optical turbulence significantly impacts atmospheric sensing and communication.
• Understanding vertical turbulence structure is crucial for modeling atmospheric phenomena.
• Previous models often lack sufficient detail on turbulence within the entrainment zone.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the vertical characteristics of optical turbulence in China's atmospheric boundary layer.
• To develop and validate a parameterization model for mixed-layer turbulence structure.
• To assess the impact of vertical resolution on estimating the atmospheric refractive index structure constant (Cn2).

Main Methods:

• Utilized high-resolution radiosonde data from three distinct Chinese regions.
• Developed a mixed-layer turbulence structure parameterization model.
• Validated an exponential decay model for turbulence attenuation across different vertical resolutions (10m, 50m, 100m).
• Proposed a dual-model framework integrating lognormal and polynomial methods for entrainment zone turbulence.

Main Results:

• Observed significant regional variations in turbulence decay patterns (h^-4/3 vs. h^-2).
• Validated the robustness of the exponential decay model for turbulence.
• Demonstrated the effectiveness of the dual-model framework in characterizing localized strong turbulence layers.
• Showcased the framework's applicability across different sites.

Conclusions:

• Regional atmospheric conditions and terrain influence optical turbulence decay.
• The developed dual-model framework accurately quantifies anomalous Cn2 enhancements in the entrainment zone.
• Findings support advancements in adaptive optics, laser communication, and pollutant dispersion modeling.