First results from turbulence profiling with SODAR at Subaru Telescope

Fumihiro Uraguchi; Naruhisa Takato; Ikuru Iwata; Hisashi Koyano; Yoshitaka Mikami

doi:10.1117/12.789971

10 July 2008 First results from turbulence profiling with SODAR at Subaru Telescope

Fumihiro Uraguchi, Naruhisa Takato, Ikuru Iwata, Hisashi Koyano, Yoshitaka Mikami

Proceedings Volume 7012, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes II; 70123X (2008) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789971
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2008, Marseille, France

Abstract

We have started a regular operation of the Sound Detection and Ranging(SODAR) for understanding the observing conditions at the Subaru telescope, Mauna Kea. The element array of SODAR emits audible sounds and then detects doppler shifted echo and its strength from various altitudes. The echo strength is known to be proportional to the temperature structure constant(C²_T), and we can obtain the vertical profile of optical turbulence. We adopted REMTECH PA1 SODAR, which is capable of measuring meteorological parameters between 20 m and 1000 m above the ground. Because the echo strength obtained by the PA1 has arbitrary unit, we attempted to determine the conversion factor from the SODAR echo strength to C²_T value by comparing with the data obtained by micro-thermal sensors simultaneously that were set on a 30 m tower placed near the SODAR. In May 2007, we made a calibration campaign at Okayama Astronomical Observatory(OAO) in Japan. We found the conversion factor is 3.0×10^-7 K²m^-2/3, however, the scatter of the correlation between the data of SODAR and micro-thermal sensors were large. We also found a possible artificial enhancement of echo strength in its altitude profile. We report the details of the calibration and preliminary results from the regular operation at the Subaru telescope since Feb 2008.

Citation Download Citation

Fumihiro Uraguchi, Naruhisa Takato, Ikuru Iwata, Hisashi Koyano, and Yoshitaka Mikami "First results from turbulence profiling with SODAR at Subaru Telescope", Proc. SPIE 7012, Ground-based and Airborne Telescopes II, 70123X (10 July 2008); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.789971

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available