The use of the experimentally deduced Brunt-Vaisala frequency and turbulent velocity fluctuations to estimate the eddy diffusion coefficient

The determination of the turbulent energy dissipation rate or the eddy diffusion coefficient from radar observations can be done through the turbulence refractive index structure constant, deduced from calibrated echo power measurements, or through the turbulent velocity fluctuations, deduced from the echo spectrum width. Besides the radar parameters, power and spectrum width, the first approach needs knowledge of profiles of temperature and electron density in the mesosphere and the fraction of the radar volume filled with turbulence. The latter approach needs knowledge of the temperature profile, namely, the Brunt-Vaisala frequency. The use of this latter approach is demonstrated.