Mikhail A. Vorontsov (University of Dayton), Gary W. Carhart (U.S. Army Research Laboratory), V. S. Rao Gudimetla (Air Force Research Laboratory), Thomas Weyrauch (University of Dayton), Eric Stevenson (Boeing LTS), Svetlana L. Lachinova (University of Maryland), Leonid A. Beresnev (U.S. Army Research Laboratory), Jiang Liu (U.S. Army Research Laboratory), Karl Rehder (Boeing LTS), Jim F. Riker (Air Force Research Laboratory)
Keywords: Adaptive Optics, imaging, atmospherics
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 (?1 = 0.53 ?m, ?2 = 1.06 ?m, and ?3 = 1.55 ?m). 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.
Date of Conference: September 14-17, 2010
Track: Adaptive Optics & Imaging