In-situ turbulence measurements over a desert basin using a kite/tethered-blimp platform

Frank D. Eaton; Ben B. Balsley; Kenneth P. Bishop; Rod G. Frehlich; Ronald J. Hugo; Michael L. Jensen; Kimberley A. McCrae

doi:10.1117/12.356966

3 August 1999 In-situ turbulence measurements over a desert basin using a kite/tethered-blimp platform

Frank D. Eaton, Ben B. Balsley, Kenneth P. Bishop, Rod G. Frehlich, Ronald J. Hugo, Michael L. Jensen, Kimberley A. McCrae

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 3706, Airborne Laser Advanced Technology II; (1999) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.356966
Event: AeroSense '99, 1999, Orlando, FL, United States

Abstract

Results of the refractive index structure parameter (C_T²), C_n², and the eddy dissipation rate, (epsilon) , derived from the velocity structure parameter, C_v², are presented from high speed fluctuation measurements taken using a kite/tethered-blimp platform in the Tularosa Basin at White Sands Missile Range, NM during the spring of 1998. Comparisons of different sensor measuring the same parameter are displayed and discussed. Salient features of the sensors and the kite and blimp platforms are outlined. Long term measurements of high speed fluctuations of temperature and velocity are shown and intermittency of turbulence is discussed. The nature and statistics of turbulence inside, outside, and at the boundary of a turbulent layer are also shown and interpreted. Observations in the entrainment zone at the top of the planetary boundary layer are shown and similarities of characteristics found in the tropopause region with these boundary layer features is discussed. The diurnal variation of turbulence is presented with particular emphasis on the transition period from the end of daytime convection to development of the stable nocturnal boundary layer. Results are displayed as profiles and histograms of C_n² and (epsilon) for daytime, near sunset, and nighttime conditions.

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Frank D. Eaton, Ben B. Balsley, Kenneth P. Bishop, Rod G. Frehlich, Ronald J. Hugo, Michael L. Jensen, and Kimberley A. McCrae "In-situ turbulence measurements over a desert basin using a kite/tethered-blimp platform", Proc. SPIE 3706, Airborne Laser Advanced Technology II, (3 August 1999); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.356966

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