Toward an optimal prediction of atmospheric turbulence by means of WRF model

Forecasts of meteorological and atmospheric turbulence conditions are important for optical link optimization in laser telemetry, for free space telecommunications reliability and optical imaging systems. It has become a necessary information for an optimal programming of the ground-based astronomical observations, called "flexible scheduling". In this study, we present the ability of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to predict the meteorological parameters (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction) as well as the optical turbulence conditions (profile of the refractive index structure parameter 2, seeing, Fried parameter, isoplanatic angle and coherence time) above Cerro Pachon Observatory in Chile. Radiosounding balloons and mast based observations have been used to evaluate the model performance. We will show that WRF model can reach a good agreement with the radiosoundings measurements.