Convert the shear probe data

copy&paste from V1 docx

Convert the shear-probe data samples into physical units using the standard equation,

[math]\displaystyle{ s=\frac{N_s}{2\sqrt2SU^2G\gamma} }[/math]

where [math]\displaystyle{ s }[/math] is the shear signal in physical units of [math]\displaystyle{ \mathrm{s}^{-1} }[/math] , [math]\displaystyle{ N_s }[/math] are the raw numeric samples (the output of an analog-to-digital converter), [math]\displaystyle{ S }[/math] is the calibrated sensitivity of the shear-probe in units of [math]\displaystyle{ \mathrm{V/(m\,s^{-1})^2} }[/math], [math]\displaystyle{ U }[/math] is the speed of profiling in [math]\displaystyle{ \mathrm{m\,s^{-1}} }[/math], [math]\displaystyle{ G }[/math] is the gain of the differentiator in the electronics of the shear probe in units of [math]\displaystyle{ \mathrm{s} }[/math], and [math]\displaystyle{ \gamma }[/math] is the gain of the analog-to-digital converter used to create the samples in units of [math]\displaystyle{ \mathrm{counts\, V^{-1}} }[/math]. The above formula assumes that the electronics of the shear probe uses a differentiator to produce a signal that is proportional to the time rate of change of the cross-profile velocity fluctuations.

The sensitivity of the shear probe to shear is proportional to the square of the speed of profiling. Thus, one should set a minimum speed for the conversion of the shear-probe data into physical units. Otherwise, the conversion may produce enormously large and quite unrealistic values. Realistic minimum speeds for the conversion into physical units are [math]\displaystyle{ 0.05 }[/math] to [math]\displaystyle{ 0.1\, \mathrm{m\,s^{-1}} }[/math] because the shear-probe signal is likely to be dominated by electronic noise and the angle of attack will be large ([math]\displaystyle{ \gt 20^{\circ} }[/math]) even for low levels of dissipation (\citet{Lueck, R.G., D. Huang, D. Newman, and J. Box, 1997, Turbulence measurements with a moored instrument, J. Atmos. Oceanic Techno., 14, 143-161}).

If your instrument does not have a differentiator, then the recorded signal is proportional to the cross-profile velocity fluctuations, say [math]\displaystyle{ u }[/math]. You must convert this signal into the time derivative of the rate of change of cross-profile velocity using the first difference operator

[math]\displaystyle{ s = f_s\, \left[ u(n) - u(n-1) \right] }[/math]

where [math]\displaystyle{ f_s }[/math] is the sampling rate of your data and [math]\displaystyle{ u }[/math] are the samples of the shear probe that have been converted into velocity fluctuations in units of [math]\displaystyle{ \mathrm{m\, s^{-1}} }[/math] following the recommendation of the manufacturer of your instrument.

The above equation is an approximation of a time derivative that deviates from a true (continuous-domain) derivative with increasing frequency. The square of the magnitude of the transfer function of a first difference operation is

[math]\displaystyle{ \left|𝐻_{\Delta}(𝑓)\right|^2 = \left[4𝑓_𝑁\, \sin(\frac{\pi}{2} \frac{𝑓}{𝑓_𝑁}) \right]^2 }[/math]

where [math]\displaystyle{ f_N = f_s/2 }[/math] is the Nyquist frequency. The square of the magnitude of the transfer function of a differentiator in the continuous domain is

[math]\displaystyle{ \left|H_c(f) \right| = \left[2\pi f\right]^2 \ \ }[/math].

Shear spectra computed using shear-probe data that has been processed by a first difference operator must be corrected by multiplying such spectra by the ratio of these two transfer functions. That is, the spectra are multiplied by

[math]\displaystyle{ \left| \frac{H_c}{H_{\Delta}} \right|^2 = \left[ \frac{2\pi f}{4𝑓_𝑁\, \sin(\frac{\pi}{2} \frac{𝑓}{𝑓_𝑁})} \right]^2 \ \ . }[/math]

This correction factor has its maximum at the Nyquist frequency where it equals [math]\displaystyle{ \left(\frac{\pi}{2}\right)^2 }[/math].