# Scintillometer

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Scintillometer
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Scintillometer.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scintillometer
> Source revision: 1348927164
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{Short description|Measures fluctuations in the refractive index of air}}
{{Distinguish|Scintillation counter}}
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](/source/scientific) device used to measure [turbulent](/source/turbulence) fluctuations of the [refractive index](/source/refractive_index) of [air](/source/air) caused by variations in temperature, humidity, and pressure. It consists of an [optical](/source/optical) or [radio wave](/source/radio_wave) transmitter and a receiver at opposite ends of an [atmospheric](/source/atmospheric) propagation path. The receiver detects and evaluates the intensity fluctuations of the transmitted signal, called [scintillation](/source/scintillation_(astronomy)).

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](/source/structure_constant_of_refractive_index_fluctuations), which is the spectral amplitude of refractive index fluctuations in the [inertial subrange of turbulence](/source/inertial_subrange_of_turbulence). Some types of scintillometers, such as displaced-beam scintillometers, can also measure the [inner scale of refractive index fluctuations](/source/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](/source/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](/source/dissipation_rate_of_turbulent_kinetic_energy) and the [momentum flux](/source/momentum_flux).

==See also==
* [Transmissometer](/source/Transmissometer)
* [Nephelometer](/source/Nephelometer)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.met.wur.nl/projects/intro/scintillation_method.pdf The scintillation method] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051940/http://www.met.wur.nl/projects/intro/scintillation_method.pdf |date=2017-12-22 }} 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] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171222051910/http://www.met.wur.nl/internal_reports/ir2004_02_v1.1.pdf |date=2017-12-22 }} -  by A.F. Moene, W.M.L. Meijninger, O.K. Hartogensis, W. Kohsiek, H.A.R. de Bruin,  Wageningen University, The Netherlands
Category:Interferometry

{{climate-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Scintillometer](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scintillometer) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scintillometer?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.