Editing Scintillometer

{{Distinguish|Scintillation counter}}
[[Image:kippzonen scintillometer.jpg|thumb|right|A Large Aperture Scintillometer (transmitter) for measurement of the sensible heat flux over long distances at Wageningen University measurement site]]
A '''scintillometer''' is a [[scientific]] device used to measure [[turbulence|turbulent]] fluctuations of the [[refractive index]] of [[air]] caused by variations in temperature, humidity, and pressure. It consists of an [[optical]] or [[radio wave]] transmitter and a receiver at opposite ends of an [[atmospheric]] propagation path. The receiver detects and evaluates the intensity fluctuations of the transmitted signal, called [[scintillation (astronomy)|scintillation]].

The magnitude of the refractive index fluctuations is usually measured in terms of <math>C_n^2</math>, the [[structure constant of refractive index fluctuations]], which is the spectral amplitude of refractive index fluctuations in the [[inertial subrange of turbulence]]. Some types of scintillometers, such as displaced-beam scintillometers, can also measure the [[inner scale of refractive index fluctuations]], which is the smallest size of eddies in the inertial subrange.

Scintillometers also allow measurements of the transfer of heat between the Earth's surface and the air above, called the [[sensible heat flux]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/lemke/geog101/miscellaneous/heat_fluxes.html |title=Heat Fluxes & the Energy Balance |accessdate=2004-06-02 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20040628175642/http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/lemke/geog101/miscellaneous/heat_fluxes.html |archivedate=2004-06-28 }}</ref> Inner-scale scintillometers can also measure the [[dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy]] and the [[momentum flux]].

==See also==
* [[Transmissometer]]
* [[Nephelometer]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.met.wur.nl/projects/intro/scintillation_method.pdf The scintillation method] by  W.M.L. Meijninger, Wageningen University, The Netherlands
* [http://www.met.wur.nl/internal_reports/ir2004_02_v1.1.pdf A review of the relationships describing the signal of a Large Aperture Scintillometer] -  by A.F. Moene, W.M.L. Meijninger, O.K. Hartogensis, W. Kohsiek, H.A.R. de Bruin,  Wageningen University, The Netherlands
[[Category:Interferometry]]

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