Turbulence Environment Characterization

Abstract

This report presents discussions of a variety of activities and results related to the characterization of atmospheric turbulence and its effects on optical propagation at the AMOS Observatory on Maui, Hawaii. The report is divided into two major parts. The first part summarizes the measurements carried out during the entire program and presents an integrated view of the AMOS turbulence environment. Numerical values and the statistics of several optical parameters such as the Mutual Coherence Function correlation scale, r sub o, and the aperture averaged (36cm) log-amplitude variance are discussed. Furthermore, an averaged AMOS turbulent profile based on data from several different instrumental systems is defined. Values of optical parameters derived from this profile are in good agreement with their directly measured values. The most important conclusion drawn from this analysis is that sufficient information now exits to provide a consistent model of the average AMOS environment. However, due to a variety of short term behavior, the application of this model to the detailed operation of various systems should be approached with care. The second part discusses the activities carried out during the period 1 October 1977 - 30 September 1978. Included is a discussion of experimental operations, instrumentation status and data reduction and analysis.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 01, 1979
Accession Number
ADA072379

Entities

People

  • M. G. Miller
  • P. L. Zieske

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Sensors
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Accuracy
  • Atmospheric Motion
  • Boundary Layer
  • Computer Programs
  • Data Processing
  • Databases
  • Detectors
  • Dew Point
  • Ground Level
  • High Altitude
  • Information Science
  • Measurement
  • Observatories
  • Plastic Explosives
  • Random Variables
  • Refraction
  • Refractive Index

Readers

  • Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  • Computational Modeling and Simulation
  • Fluid Mechanics and Fluid Dynamics.