FEATURES

The Large Aperture Scintillometer (LAS) and eXtra Large Aperture Scintillometer (X-LAS) are instruments designed for measuring the path-averaged structure parameter of the refractive index of air (Cn

Provide path-averaged turbulent statistics (C
n 2 ) of the atmosphere over long distancesFast response time, the averaging in both time and space provides reliable statistics in a few minutes Suited for measuring over distances in excess of 8 kilometersNo flow distortion by the instrument itselfWindow/lens heater to eliminate condensation problemsEasy transportation and installationSuitable for use in remote areas (low power consumption, e.g. solar - battery power)No moving parts, low operational costs, easy data processingOnboard reference signal allow on scene performance checks of the electronics
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) over horizontal paths of several kilometers. Structure parameter measurements obtained with both scintillometers and additional standard meteorological observations (air temperature, wind speed and air pressure) can be used to derive the surface sensible heat flux (H). The LAS optically measures the structure parameter (Cn

APPLICATIONS

Agriculture and Forestry:

optimal timing for spraying
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) between transmitter and receiver separated by several kilometres. Compared to traditional 'point' measurements the LAS and X-LAS operate at spatial industrial scales comparable to the grid box size of numerical models and the pixel resolution of satellite images used in meteorology, hydrology and water-management studies. The LAS has important applications in energy balance and water balance studies, because the surface flux of sensible heat is linked to evaporation.The scintillometers require little power and are suitable for use in remote areas. Their robust housing and mounting make the instruments ideal for long-term operation and require little maintenance. Both the LAS and the X-LAS have a heated window to eliminate condensation problems and embodies onboard calibration and reference signals allowing rapid confirmation of the instrument performance. Both instruments have analogue output signals which can be directly connected to any data logger with at least 2 analogue input channels.

Climatology:

support of energy balance studies

Environmental services:

air pollution forecast and warning in urban areas

Hydrology:

regional and basin-scale evaporation

Irrigation, water & management:

optimal timing for irrigating

Meteorology:

regional weather forecasting

Radio physics:

electromagnetic wave propagation

Remote sensing:

ideal instrument (ground truth) for validation studies of satellite/aircraft remote sensing methods

Turbulence:

inertial sub-range scale turbulence measurements