The elliptical dimension of space-time atmospheric stratification of passive admixtures using lidar data

State-of-the-art airborne lidar data of passive scalars have shown that the spatial stratification of the atmosphere is scaling: the vertical extent (Δz) of structures is typically ≈ΔxHz where Δx is the horizontal extent and Hz is a stratification exponent. Assuming horizontal isotropy, the volumes of the structures therefore vary as ΔxΔxΔxHz=ΔxDs where the “elliptical dimension”Ds characterizes the rate at which the volumes of typical non-intermittent structures vary with scale. Work on vertical cross-sections has shown that 2+Hz=2.55±0.02 (close to the theoretical prediction 23/9).