Statistic reliability of the Meso-Nh atmospherical model for 3D C²N simulations

The numerical technique is, at the present time, the only approach that can provide 3D C²N maps in a region around a telescope. Previous studies showed that the non-hydrostatic atmospherical Meso-Nh model can simulate reliable C²N vertical profiles. Recently, a new calibration technique for the model was proposed in order to improve the reliability of the simulations. In this paper we apply this technique to a sample of 10 nights of the San Pedro Mártir site testing campaign of May 2000 in order to study the statistical reliability. Measurements of the C²N profiles provided by different instruments are compared with simulations and the results are analysed statistically after the calibration. For the first time, the comparison between measurements and simulations is done considering the turbulence contributions provided by all the regions of the atmosphere (the boundary layer, the free atmosphere, and the surface layer) and by the dome of the telescope. Our results show that the dispersion between measurements and simulations is comparable to that obtained between measurements provided by different instruments (≤30%). Suggestions are presented for improvements to be implemented in the Meso-Nh model.