Measurements of atmospheric turbulence strength by coherent optical scintillation

The strength of the atmospheric turbulence, as described by the so called structure constant, Cn2, is measured by a laser scintillation method developed by us. We developed the method in the case of "small fluctuation", that is log-normal intensity distribution. First we measured the scintillation index, to confirm the validity range of our method, and then the second intensity moment to obtain the structure constant. Values of the structure constant measured in three different paths in the atmosphere in Florence, Italy, are reported.