Inertial sub-range detection and characterization for ground-layer turbulence at new extremely large telescope sites in Chile
Abstract
The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) presents turbulence regimes that diverge from the classical Kolmogorov 1941 (K41) power-law spectrum widely assumed in optical atmospheric profiling, yet turbulence characterization for astronomical applications remains predominantly based on K41 assumptions. Using high-frequency sonic anemometer data from site-testing campaigns at the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) sites in Chile, we apply detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA)---a technique from fractal time-series analysis---to identify the inertial sub-range and evaluate statistical isotropy in the ABL, comparing our approach with the Fourier-based algorithm for robust identification of the inertial subrange (ARIIS). Strict Kolmogorov conditions---simultaneous isotropy and k−5/3 scaling across all fields---are satisfied in fewer than 7 per cent of observations. Temperature fields systematically decouple from velocity components under stable stratification, exhibiting Bolgiano-Obukhov scaling (k−7/5) during nighttime hours, indicating active rather than passive scalar behaviour. DFA-detected regime transitions correlate with characteristic turbulence scales, providing objective, model-free boundaries for the inertial subrange. Comparative Cn2 estimation reveals that structure function methods assuming K41 scaling diverge significantly from flux-based parameterizations under stable conditions. The rarity of true Kolmogorov conditions at these sites necessitates stratification-aware methodologies for accurate optical turbulence characterization at next-generation extremely large telescope facilities.
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BibTeX
@misc{sepulveda2026inertial,
title = {{Inertial sub-range detection and characterization for ground-layer turbulence at new extremely large telescope sites in Chile}},
author = {Marco Sepúlveda and Darío G. Pérez},
howpublished = {arXiv},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.48550/arxiv.2611.07910},
eprint = {2611.07910},
archivePrefix = {arXiv},
url = {https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.07910},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Inertial sub-range detection and characterization for ground-layer turbulence at new extremely large telescope sites in Chile
AU - Marco Sepúlveda
AU - Darío G. Pérez
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
PB - arXiv
DO - 10.48550/arxiv.2611.07910
UR - https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.07910
AB - The atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) presents turbulence regimes that diverge from the classical Kolmogorov 1941 (K41) power-law spectrum widely assumed in optical atmospheric profiling, yet turbulence characterization for astronomical applications remains predominantly based on K41 assumptions. Using high-frequency sonic anemometer data from site-testing campaigns at the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) and Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) sites in Chile, we apply detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA)---a technique from fractal time-series analysis---to identify the inertial sub-range and evaluate statistical isotropy in the ABL, comparing our approach with the Fourier-based algorithm for robust identification of the inertial subrange (ARIIS). Strict Kolmogorov conditions---simultaneous isotropy and k^−5/3 scaling across all fields---are satisfied in fewer than 7 per cent of observations. Temperature fields systematically decouple from velocity components under stable stratification, exhibiting Bolgiano-Obukhov scaling (k^−7/5) during nighttime hours, indicating active rather than passive scalar behaviour. DFA-detected regime transitions correlate with characteristic turbulence scales, providing objective, model-free boundaries for the inertial subrange. Comparative C_n^2 estimation reveals that structure function methods assuming K41 scaling diverge significantly from flux-based parameterizations under stable conditions. The rarity of true Kolmogorov conditions at these sites necessitates stratification-aware methodologies for accurate optical turbulence characterization at next-generation extremely large telescope facilities.
ER -