ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author discusses satellite remote sensing capabilities for turbulence detection. Most conducted in situ investigations of turbulence and intermittency with a large portfolio of data are based on the statistical approach or higher-order analyses, such as probability distribution functions, structure functions, spectral power laws, and multifractals. Convection, orography, and tropospheric baroclinic instability can also lead to significant turbulence in both cloudy and clear air atmospheric conditions. The state-of-the-art technology for turbulence detection would require some form of adaptation to the multi-disciplinarily level of expertise to make it available for users of different background. Potentially, hazardous turbulence situations occur at all thunderstorms and hurricanes and their avoiding is the best policy in commercial aviation. Turbulence occurs in complex wind fields where numerous vortices are generated due to significant differences of adjacent air streams velocities. Traditionally, optical ground-based techniques such as scintillometers or Doppler lidar are used locally for turbulence detection and forecasting.
