Characterization of Atmospheric Turbulence Effects Over 149 km Propagation Path using Multi-Wavelength Laser Beacons

Abstract

We describe preliminary results of a set of laser beam propagation experiments performed over a long (149 km) near-horizontal propagation path between Mauna Loa (Hawaii Island) and Haleakala (Island of Maui) mountains in February 2010. The distinctive feature of the experimental campaign referred to here as the Coherent Multi-Beam Atmospheric Transceiver (COMBAT) experiments is that the measurements of the atmospheric-turbulence induced laser beam intensity scintillations at the receiver telescope aperture were obtained simultaneously using three laser sources (laser beacons) with different wavelengths. The presented experimental results on intensity scintillation characteristics reveal complexity of the observed phenomena that cannot be fully explained based on the existing atmospheric turbulence models.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA531868

Entities

People

  • Eric Stevenson
  • Gary W. Carhart
  • Jiang Liu
  • Jim F. Riker
  • Karl Rehder
  • Leonid A. Beresnev
  • Mikhail Vorontsov
  • Svetlana L. Lachinova
  • Thomas Weyrauch
  • V. S. Rao Gudimetla

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Atmospheric Motion
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics
  • Detectors
  • Elevation
  • Information Science
  • Intensity
  • Laser Beams
  • Laser Communications
  • Lasers
  • Light Sources
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • Observatories
  • Optics
  • Refractive Index
  • Turbulence

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Acoustical Oceanography.
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics.
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Directed Energy
  • Space
  • Space - Space Objects