Inferring path average C-n(2) values in the marine environment

    Authors

    F. S. Vetelino; K. Grayshan;C. Y. Young

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    J. Opt. Soc. Am. A-Opt. Image Sci. Vis.

    Keywords

    OPTICAL SCINTILLATIONS; ATMOSPHERIC-TURBULENCE; REFRACTIVE-INDEX; BOUNDARY-LAYER; FLUCTUATIONS; SPECTRUM; TEMPERATURE; HUMIDITY; Optics

    Abstract

    Current mathematical scintillation theory describing laser propagation through the atmosphere has been developed for terrestrial environments. Scintillation expressions valid in all regimes of optical turbulence for propagation in the maritime environment, based on what we believe to be a newly developed marine atmospheric spectrum, have been developed for spherical waves. Path average values of the structure parameter, C-n(2), were inferred from optical scintillation measurements of a diverged laser beam propagating in a marine n environment, using scintillation expressions based on both terrestrial and marine refractive index spectra. In the moderate-to-strong fluctuation regime, the inferred marine C-n(2) values were about 20% smaller than inferred terrestrial C-n(2) values, but a minimal difference was observed in the weak fluctuation regime. Measurements of angle-of-arrival fluctuations were used to infer C-n(2) values in the moderate-to-strong fluctuation regime, resulting in values of the structure parameter that were at least an order of magnitude larger than the two scintillation-inferred C-n(2) values. (c) 2007 Optical Society of America.

    Journal Title

    Journal of the Optical Society of America a-Optics Image Science and Vision

    Volume

    24

    Issue/Number

    10

    Publication Date

    1-1-2007

    Document Type

    Article

    Language

    English

    First Page

    3198

    Last Page

    3206

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000250682300029

    ISSN

    1084-7529

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