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Abstract : Modern astronomy demands ever increasing performance from its instrument
A major obstacle for ground-based observations is the micro-fluctuations of temperature in the atmosphere which, modifying the refractive index of the air, randomly scramble the propagation of optical waves and cause a loss of information. The choice of a site for a future observatory is crucial for the long-term development of national astronomy.
Thus, the image quality or seeing has become one of the criteria retained in the final decision making for the choice of sites.
The prediction of atmospheric and turbulence conditions is of great interest for the astronomical community, However the use of a numerical approach becomes crucial for the characterization of atmospheric and optical turbulence conditions.
In this study, a numerical approach based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) of meteorological parameters (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction) as well as the optical turbulence conditions ( 𝐶𝑛2 ) of the forecast model for all three target sites in
Senegal. We also present the seeing obtained for each site and other integrated parameters of the vertical profiles of atmospheric turbulence.
Keywords: Atmospheric turbulence, Seeing, Weather Research and Forecasting
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