Nighttime Optical Turbulence Vertical Structure above Dome C in Antarctica

Details Nighttime Optical Turbulence Vertical Structure above Dome C in Antarctica Nighttime Optical Turbulence Vertical Structure above Dome C in Antarctica

Feb 2008

adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2008pasp..120..203t&link_type=abstract

Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Volume 120, issue 864, pp.203-211

Physics

Optics

30

Astronomical Phenomena And Seeing

Scientific paper

During the austral winter 2005, the first astronomical site testing campaign were performed at Dome C, in Antarctica. Thirty-five meteorological balloons equipped with microthermal sensors were used to sense the vertical profile of the optical turbulence intensity C N 2 profiles of midlatitude sites. Of the whole optical turbulence, 80% lies within the first 33m above the ground and 9% in the upper part of the boundary layer, between 33m and 1km above the ground. The remaining 11% are in the free atmosphere. This is an extreme situation when compared with classical midlatitude sites where the surface layer extends up to 200m. This strong and thin surface layer is the result of the kinetic turbulent mixing of air combined with a strong potential temperature gradient. The site is characterized from the adaptive optics point of view. Seeing, isoplanatic angle, and coherence time are estimated for each considered seasons. A four-layer decomposition for each season is provided for adaptive optics simulations. For high angular astronomy, a telescope at Dome C needs to be elevated over this surface layer, or a specific GLAO needs to be designed. Combined with the unique possibility of performing continuous observation from Antarctica, scientific programs such as microlensing, pulsating stars, and asteroseismology become feasible.

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