A characterization of the optical turbulence vertical distribution and all the main integrated astroclimatic parameters derived from the CN2 and the wind speed profiles above Mt. Graham is presented. The statistic includes measurements related to 43
nights done with a Generalized Scidar (GS) used in standard configuration with a vertical resolution of ~1 km on the whole 20-22 km and with the new technique (HVR-GS) in the first kilometer. The latter achieves a resolution of ~ 20-30 m in this region of the atmosphere. Measurements done in different periods of the year permit us to provide a seasonal variation analysis of the CN2. A discretized distribution of the typical CN2 profiles useful for the Ground Layer Adaptive Optics (GLAO) simulations is provided and a specific analysis for the LBT Laser Guide Star system ARGOS case is done including the calculation of the gray zones for J, H and K bands. Mt. Graham confirms to be an excellent site with median values of the seeing without dome contribution equal to 0.72, the isoplanatic angle equal to 2.5 and the wavefront coherence time equal to 4.8 msec. We provide a cumulative distribution of the percentage of turbulence developed below H* where H* is included in the (0,1 km) range. We find that 50% of the whole turbulence develops in the first 80 m from the ground. The turbulence decreasing rate is very similar to what has been observed above Mauna Kea.
The internal antarctic plateau revealed in the last years to be a site with interesting potentialities for the astronomical applications due to the extreme dryness and low temperatures, the typical high altitude of the plateau, the weak level of turb
ulence in the free atmosphere down to a just few tens of meters from the ground and the thin optical turbulence layer developed at the ground. The main goal of a site testing assessment above the internal antarctic plateau is to characterize the site (optical turbulence and classical meteorological parameters) and to quantify which is the gain we might obtain with respect to equivalent astronomical observations done above mid-latitude sites to support plans for future astronomical facilities. Our group is involved, since a few years, in studies related to the assessment of this site for astronomical applications that include the characterization of the meteorological parameters and optical turbulence provided by general circulation models as well as mesoscale atmospherical models and the quantification of the performances of Adaptive Optics (AO) systems. In this talk I will draw the status of art of this site assessment putting our studies in the context of the wide international site testing activity that has been done in Antarctica. I will focus on the site assessment relevant for astronomical applications to be done in the visible up to the near infrared ranges, i.e. those ranges for which the optical turbulence represents a perturbing element for the quality of the images and the AO techniques an efficient tool to correct these wavefront perturbations.
