Effect of Marine Atmosphere on Performance of Electrooptical Systems
Abstract
This report reviews the exploratory development effort in the US Navy to provide an atmospheric effects assessment capability for existing and planned electrooptical (EO) systems. For many EO system applications, it is necessary to have an accurate knowledge of marine background radiances and to consider the effects of the intervening atmosphere. Accordingly, a capability was developed to estimate the apparent sea surface radiance for different sea states and meteorological conditions. Also, an empirical relationship was developed which directly relates apparent mean sea temperature to calculated mean sky temperature. A careful investigation was conducted of lidar (light detection and ranging) techniques. It was concluded that single-ended, single-frequency lidars cannot be used to infer slant-path extinction with an accuracy necessary to make meaningful performance assessments. Other lidar configurations may find limited application in model validation and research efforts. No technique has emerged yet which could be considered ready for shipboard implementation. A shipboard real-time performance assessment system was developed and named PREOS (performance and Range for EO Systems). PREOS has been incorporated into the Navy's Tactical Environmental Support System (TESS). The present versions of PREOS is a first step in accomplishing the complex task or real-time systems performance assessment. Improved target and background models are under development and will be incorporated into TESS when tested and validated. Keywords: Optical propagation; IR radiance; Aerosols; Atmospheric conditions. (kt)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA215947
Entities
People
- H. G. Hughes
- J. H. Richter
- M. R. Paulson