Methods for Evaluating the Temperature Structure-Function Parameter Using Unmanned Aerial Systems and Large-Eddy Simulation

• Published in: Boundary-layer meteorology Vol. 155; no. 2; pp. 189 - 208
• Main Authors: Wainwright, Charlotte E., Bonin, Timothy A., Chilson, Phillip B., Gibbs, Jeremy A., Fedorovich, Evgeni, Palmer, Robert D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-05-2015; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aerials; Analysis; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Atmospheric Sciences; Boundaries; Computational fluid dynamics; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Electromagnetism; Large eddy simulation; Marine; Mathematical models; Meteorology; Methods; Parameter estimation; Simulation; Temperature effects; Texts; Turbulence; Unmanned; Unmanned aerial vehicles; Wave propagation; Sodar; Structure-function parameter; Unmanned aerial system; Large-eddy simulation
• ISSN: 0006-8314; 1573-1472
• DOI: 10.1007/s10546-014-0001-9

Small-scale turbulent fluctuations of temperature are known to affect the propagation of both electromagnetic and acoustic waves. Within the inertial-subrange scale, where the turbulence is locally homogeneous and isotropic, these temperature perturbations can be described, in a statistical sense, using the structure-function parameter for temperature,
C
T
2
. Here we investigate different methods of evaluating
C
T
2
, using data from a numerical large-eddy simulation together with atmospheric observations collected by an unmanned aerial system and a sodar. An example case using data from a late afternoon unmanned aerial system flight on April 24 2013 and corresponding large-eddy simulation data is presented and discussed.