Atmospheric stability from scintillation measurements

The Obukhov length L is an important meteorological parameter that quantifies the stability of the atmospheric surface layer. Consequently, routine monitoring of L with simple instruments is desirable. I describe here such a monitoring scheme, the SFS method, that has the added advantage of yielding a spatially averaged estimate of L. The SFS method-stability from scintillation-is based on measurements of the refractive-index structure parameter C(2)(n) with two matched scintillometers positioned at heights z(1) and z(2). A sensitivity analysis shows that the method can yield an estimate of the stability parameter xi = (z(1)z(2))((1/2))/L with factor of 2 accuracy in the ranges of -3 </= zeta </= -0.015 and 0.02 </=zeta </= 10, the stabilities most commonly encountered in the surface layer.