Continuous daytime and nighttime forecast of atmospheric optical turbulence from numerical weather prediction models

Quatresooz, Florian; Griffiths, Ryan; Bardou, Lisa; Wilson, Richard; Osborn, James; Vanhoenacker-Janvier, Danielle; Oestges, Claude

Abstract

Future satellite-to-ground optical communication systems will benefit from accurate forecasts of atmospheric optical turbulence; namely for site selection, for the routing and the operation of optical links, and for the design of optical communication terminals. This work presents a numerical approach based on the Weather Research and Forecasting software that enables continuous forecast of the refractive index structure parameter, 𝐶2𝑛, vertical profiles. Two different 𝐶2𝑛 models are presented and compared. One is based on monitoring the turbulent kinetic energy, while the other is a hybrid model using the Tatarskii equation to depict the free atmosphere region, and the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory for describing the boundary layer. The validity of both models is assessed by using thermosonde measurements from the Terrain-induced Rotor Experiment campaign, and from day and night measurements of the coherence length collected during a six-day campaign at Paranal observatory by a Shack-Hartmann Image Motion Monitor. The novelty of this work is the ability of the presented approach to continuously predict optical turbulence both during daytime and nighttime, and its validation with measurements in day and night conditions.

Citation

Quatresooz, F., Griffiths, R., Bardou, L., Wilson, R., Osborn, J., Vanhoenacker-Janvier, D., & Oestges, C. (2023). Continuous daytime and nighttime forecast of atmospheric optical turbulence from numerical weather prediction models. Optics Express, 31(21), 33850-33872. https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.500090

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Sep 14, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Sep 25, 2023
• Publication Date: Oct 9, 2023
• Deposit Date: Sep 27, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Sep 27, 2023
• Journal: Optics Express
• Electronic ISSN: 1094-4087
• Publisher: Optica
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 31
• Issue: 21
• Pages: 33850-33872
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1364/oe.500090
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1749895