Modeling and measurements of near ground atmospheric optical turbulence according to weather for Middle East environments

Refractive index structure parameter, C_n², which characterizes turbulence caused by local gradients of microscale meteorological parameters and by variations of macrometeorological features of the atmosphere such as air temperature, wind speed and direction, relative humidity, etc., is examined theoretically and experimentally for near ground Middle East environments. In our theoretical analysis, we present several known models for over-land atmospheric optical communication or imaging channels to predict the turbulence intensity (represented by C_n²). Via comparison with our two-year continuous experiments carried out in Israel we show their limitations for both day- and nighttime turbulent atmospheres under different meteorological conditions. An extension of an existing "practical" model, applicable for two summer and winter seasons, is presented in this work which, as is shown experimentally, can be a good predictor of C_n ² for optical atmospheric paths in Middle East climates.