Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Atmospheric and Earth Science

Committee Chair

Udaysankar Nair

Committee Member

Kevin Knupp

Committee Member

Michael Newchurch

Research Advisor

Udaysankar Nair

Subject(s)

Atmospheric turbulence--Remote sensing, Meteorological optics, Refractive index

Abstract

Propagation of electromagnetic waves through the atmosphere is affected by turbulence. The impact of turbulence on wave propagation is characterized by the refractive index structure function (Cn²), which characterizes the intensity of fluctuations of the refractive index of air due to turbulence. Observations of vertical profiles of Cn² are essential for evaluating numerical model predictions. This study presents an intercomparison of Cn² derived from multiple ground-based remote sensing systems, including 915 MHz profiler, sodar, and a parameterized method that uses doppler wind lidar and radiometer. Results indicate that the sodar is the most accurate near- surface Cn² profiler, but above the surface layer, the 915 MHz profiles are able to get full boundary layer profiles. Correcting the 915 MHz profiles for wavelength significantly improves the intercomparison above the surface. The parameterized multi-instrument method also has difficulties in estimating Cn² associated with features such as the low level jets.

Comments

Intercomparison of remote sensing methods for calculating refractive index structure parameter profiles

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