Temperature and Humidity Effects on Refractive Index Fluctuations in Upper Regions of the Convective Boundary Layer

Abstract

Here we illustrate a method which readily permits determination of the relative contributions of the individual temperature-humidity structure terms to total Cn2 within the uppermost region of the clear, convective boundary layer. The relative contributions of terms involving CT2, CTq and CT2 to acoustic, optical and microwave Cn2 are shown to be functions primarily of the ratio, ?q/??v, of humidity to virtual potential temperature jump across the inversion. A graphical procedure is illustrated for quickly determining the expected degree of error if CT2 or Cq2 are directly inferred from Cn2.