SCINTILLATION AND VISUAL RESOLUTION OVER THE GROUND. 1959 EXPERIMENTS
Abstract
Scintillation is generally regarded as the limiting factor in the ultimate resolution obtainable with optical surveillance devices in seeing distant objects. Its effects on the performance of optical sensors are most pronounced when theATMOSPHERE IS CLEAR, A TIME WHEN VISUAL RANGE WOULD BE OTHERWISE UNIMPEDED. Field experiments were conducted to determine the relationship between scintillation over level ground and various meteorological parameters under the conditions of a fixed and also a variable optical path. The experimental site on the Willow Run Airport was the same as that in the 1958 experiments. Results and conclusions are presented concerning the effect of the temperature profile, the wind velocity, the amount of cloudiness, and the length and orientation of the light path on scintillation. Scintillation depends systematically upon the absolute magnitude of the vertical temperature profile and th vertical otions within the ground layers of th atmosphere. Scintillation decreases with increasing cloudiness, increases nearly linearly with increasing pat length, and is higher looking crosswind than up/downwind. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1961
- Accession Number
- AD0267088
Entities
People
- E. Ryznar
- F.r. Bellaire
Organizations
- University of Michigan