Study of the astroclimate at the Baikal Astrophysical Observatory

The atmospheric conditions are crucial for an astronomical observatory. Earth's atmosphere limits image quality in ground-based optical telescopes. The knowledge of the atmospheric turbulence vertical distribution above an astronomical site is significant for the design and operation of adaptive optics systems as well as for scheduling the observing time. The Baikal Astrophysical Observatory (latitude $51^\circ50'$ north, longitude $104^\circ55'$ east) is the site of the 1-meter Large Solar Vacuum Telescope (LSVT). In this study we estimate the vertical distribution of optical turbulence $C_{n}^{2}$, which determines all the integrated parameters for adaptive optics. A 5-year dataset (2019–2023) of temperature and wind speed at pressure levels from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) / National Centers for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Reanalysis are used for the research.