Using stellar scintillation for studies of turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere

Abstract

Stellar scintillation observed through the Earth's atmosphere is the result of interaction of light waves and the turbulent atmosphere. This review is dedicated to using stellar scintillation measurements for studies of turbulence in the Earth's atmosphere. We present an overview of ground-based, airborne and satellite stellar scintillation measurements, discuss the approaches to data analyses and give an overview of the main geophysical results. We also discuss the benefits of the scintillation method in studies of the structure of air density irregularities and its limitations. © 2012 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society.