Atmospheric Stability & Turbulence from Temperature Profiles over Sicily During Summer 2002 & 2003 HASI Balloon Campaigns

Experimental results and interpretation of the temperature measurements data retrieved during the balloon campaigns (in 2002 and in 2003) for testing HASI (Huygens Atmospheric Structure Instrument), launched from the Italian Space Agency Base in Trapani (Sicily), are presented. Both ascending and descending phases are analysed; data reveal interesting features near the tropopause (present in the region between 11km-14km), where temperature cooling can be related to layers with strong winds (2002 flight); in the troposphere a multistratified structure of the temperature field is observed and discussed (particularly in the 2003 flight) Finally, stability and turbulence of the atmosphere are analysed; the buoyancy N2 parameters for both the flights show lowers value respect to standard tropospheric values corresponding to a lower stability of the atmosphere; still there is a higher stability above the tropopause. The energy spectrum of temperature data is consistent with the Kolmogorov theory: the characteristic k(sup -5/3) behaviour is reproduced.