A comparison of scintillation crosswind methods

Shimmering of distant objects on a hot day or the twinkling of stars is familiar to most people. These visual effects, known as scintillation, are caused by the drift of refractive-index irregularities in the atmosphere. Analysis of scintillation phenomena provide a method for remotely sensing the atmosphere, since this effect is related to turbulence and wind. Optical remote sensing is an appealing method to measure wind in complex terrain. A scintillometer was built at the authors´ institute, with the aim to measure wind across an Alpine valley. In a first step, they tested this instrument over a flat ground and compared its performance with conventional anemometers. Different methods of evaluation can be used. They investigated 6 different methods, and the results of these tests are reported