My company has a real time wake turbulence measurement system. The measurements are about every 3 seconds, and the measurements are taken at 500m, 1500m, and 2500m from threshold. The system measures a grid up to 300m high at each location. When the ac passes over the array, it begins measuring the wake turbulence.
Since this is real time measurement, you can bring in the aircraft without guessing where the wake is, you know exactly where it is and the velocity, and when it is clear...(or where it has gone)
The ac is descending on the flightpath, and the wake is descending as well. This system is used in combination with a wind profiler, which is located at 3000, from threshold, and measures the wind column, real time as well, up 1000m. The profiler shows wind velocity and direction every 5m in altitude. It very distinctly shows wind direction changes, shear zones, and advection layers as they rise or fall. The great thing about this information is it provides winds right on final, and at real time. You will see the exact shear zone, the direction and velocity change, and be able to adjust. The system will also pick up microburst, downdraft/updrafts, and will broadcast on the windshear ADSB system.
Okay, so this system will show the approach path, when it is clear, when the conditions start to degrade and ATC needs to have greater separation distances, and when conditions improve, tighten the spacing up.
Should a gust or something else happen, an immediate warning is given to ATC with sufficient time to have the following aircraft do a go-around, and/or broadcast to the ac warning system for avoidance measures.
In short, after the system is up and operational for a period of time, ATC will be able to balance and blend the queue with the actual types of aircraft, and the associated loading, that are common for that runway.
Using this system fits within the ICAO framework of the RECAT, which allows for greater freedom of wake separation when monitored real-time.
ICAO Block upgrades support this, Global Initiatives, ACE, and the RECAT programs, and fits within many automated MET and ATM systems.
In reality, the wake turbulence currently is based on weight, with RECAT movement towards finite weight classes from the 3x3 matrix to 6x6 or 8x8, to the ultimate 64x64 matrix?!?! I really cannot see how anyone could track a 64x64 matrix and stay sane.....
After looking at thousands of flight datasets, it isnt about weight. A while back, there was a different system testing the Airbus ac with real time measurements, and the results were so unexpected, that they did not believe the LIDAR system worked. The system did work, what doesnt work is the mathematical approximations of the wake turbulence models.
As I noted before, 3 identical 737-8 in a row, all made very different vortex, simply because of the difference between flaps 20/30/40 with inboard flaps. A 737-4 makes a much different vortex as well, because that ac has outboard flaps as well.
The beauty of it is, the system is stand alone at this point, nothing is required to be added to the aircraft. For ATC, the system show the various locations as red, yellow and green for the clearance, so minimal training with situational awareness of the system is required.
We also have a similar system for single runway, cross runway and parallel runway departures.