Characterization of optical turbulence (Cn2) data measured at the ARL A_LOT facility

Abstract

The Army Research Laboratory (ARL), Atmospheric Laser Optics Testbed (A_LOT) is a unique experimental facility with which to measure optical turbulence (Cn2) intensity and investigate its effects on infrared imaging and laser optics communications. Within the A_LOT, an atmospheric boundary layer scintillometer records Cn2 data over a near horizontal, 2.3 km path. The optical path extends from the top of a tall water tower to the Intelligent Optics Laboratory (IOL) rooftop at ARL. The mid-point elevation of the optical path is approximately 40 m above ground level. In this paper, we present an overview of selected optical turbulence and meteorology data collected at the A_LOT facility and identify several viable research areas that focus on optical turbulence (Cn2) measurement, modeling, and analysis.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2005
Accession Number
AD1043164

Entities

People

  • Arnold D. Tunick
  • Gary Carhart
  • Mikhail Vorontsov
  • Nikolay Tikhonov

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Artificial Satellites
  • Atmospheric Sciences
  • Boundaries
  • Boundary Layer
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Ground Level
  • Information Science
  • Laser Beams
  • Layers
  • Measurement
  • Meteorological Data
  • Meteorology
  • Military Research
  • Refraction
  • Refractive Index
  • Statistical Analysis
  • Turbulence

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Aerospace Research.
  • Atmospheric Science/Meteorology
  • Spectroscopy.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy