Abstract

A semiempirical theory is developed which relates the refractive-index-structure parameter C_n² in the lowest few tens of meters to the vertical gradients of wind speed and temperature and to a stability parameter. This provides an indirect method of determining C_n², or its temperature counterpart C_T², and the method is successfully applied to recent data which include directly measured C_T² values. The height dependence of the structure parameter is also determined, and the predicted z^−4/3 profile under unstable conditions agrees with recent data in the free atmosphere at heights up to 500 m.

© 1971 Optical Society of America

Estimation of the refractive-index temperature structure parameter over the ocean

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Opt. Express 29(8) 12454-12470 (2021)