In December 2006, a 17-day propagation field experiment was conducted on a near-sea-surface 7.07 kilometer path over the Pacific Ocean outside San Diego Bay. This test offered an opportunity to compare the results from incoherent optical instruments with propagated 1.064 micron laser radiation on the same path. The comparison includes both the turbulence effects on the beam, and the extinction of the beam by aerosol particles and molecules. We also comment on the optical configuration of the laser test which prevented accurate measurement of some of the important transmission and scintillation effects.

Date Published: 20 August 2008
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 7090, Atmospheric Optics: Models, Measurements, and Target-in-the-Loop Propagation II, 70900K (20 August 2008); doi: 10.1117/12.798767

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7090:
Atmospheric Optics: Models, Measurements, and Target-in-the-Loop Propagation II
Stephen M. Hammel; Alexander M. J. van Eijk; Mikhail A. Vorontsov, Editor(s)