Refractive turbulence profiling using synthetic aperture spatial filtering of scintillation

Area of Science:

• Atmospheric physics
• Optical engineering
• Fluid dynamics

Background:

• Atmospheric turbulence significantly impacts optical systems and signal propagation.
• Accurate measurement of refractive turbulence, C(2)(n), is crucial for understanding these effects.
• Existing methods for profiling C(2)(n) often lack high spatial resolution or require complex instrumentation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a method for obtaining high spatial resolution vertical profiles of refractive turbulence C(2)(n).
• To infer the shape of the refractive turbulence spectrum from ground-based measurements.
• To determine the necessary signal-to-noise ratio and resolution for this technique.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing a translating airborne light source to illuminate the atmosphere.
• Spatially filtering ground-based observations of optical scintillation patterns.
• Analyzing scintillation data to derive vertical C(2)(n) profiles and turbulence spectrum characteristics.

Main Results:

• Successfully obtained high spatial resolution vertical profiles of refractive turbulence C(2)(n).
• Demonstrated the ability to infer the shape of the refractive turbulence spectrum.
• Showcased the accessibility of turbulence microscale profiles through ground-based measurements.

Conclusions:

• The translating airborne light source method provides detailed vertical profiles of atmospheric refractive turbulence.
• Ground-based optical scintillation analysis is effective for characterizing turbulence spectrum and microscale parameters.
• The study defines the signal-to-noise ratio and resolution requirements for this measurement technique.