A Critical Assessment of Selected Past Research on Optical Turbulence Information in Diverse Microclimates

Due to the increased use of laser and ground-to-satellite communications the need for reliable optical turbulence information is growing. Optical turbulence information is important because it describes an atmospheric effect that can degrade the performance of electromagnetic systems and sensors, e....

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Tunick, Arnold
Other Authors: ARMY RESEARCH LAB ADELPHI MD
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: 2002
Subjects:
Atmospheric Physics
Optics
*OPTICAL PROPERTIES
*REFRACTIVE INDEX
*TURBULENCE
*ATMOSPHERIC MOTION
*MICROCLIMATOLOGY
DATA BASES
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
SYSTEMS ENGINEERING
COASTAL REGIONS
DETECTORS
PERFORMANCE(ENGINEERING)
PARAMETERS
BOUNDARY LAYER
OPTICAL DATA
TERRAIN
TOPOGRAPHY
RELIABILITY
INFRARED IMAGES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
BUDGETS
OCEANS
ENERGY CONSERVATION
URBAN AREAS
ARCTIC REGIONS
ATMOSPHERIC TURBULENCE
SCINTILLOMETER
PE62784A
Arctic
Online Access:http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA406559
http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA406559
Description
Summary:Due to the increased use of laser and ground-to-satellite communications the need for reliable optical turbulence information is growing. Optical turbulence information is important because it describes an atmospheric effect that can degrade the performance of electromagnetic systems and sensors, e.g., free-space optical communications and infrared imaging. However, critical analysis of selected past research indicates that there are some areas (i.e., data and models) in which optical turbulence information is lacking. For example, line-of-sight, optical turbulence data coupled with atmospheric models in hilly terrain, coastal areas, and within built-up urban areas are few in number or non-existent. In addition, the bulk of existing atmospheric computer models that are being used to provide estimates of optical turbulence are basically one-dimensional in nature and assume uniform turbulence conditions over large areas. Therefore, current optical turbulence theory and models may be critically deficient and in error for inhomogeneous turbulence conditions, such as those that occur in urban environments or environments with changing topography and energy budgets. This paper summarizes selected past research on optical turbulence and the refractive index structure parameter (C2n) in diverse microclimates in an effort to identify deficiencies in the optical turbulence information database and to recommend improvements. The database presented here contains optical turbulence (C2n) information at different wavelengths and for different microclinate environments, e.g., in rural, hilly, desert, mountain-valley, urban, coastal, ocean, and arctic. The database includes several examples of measured and modeled values of C2n in the atmospheric surface and boundary layers.

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