Extracting atmospheric turbulence and aerosol characteristics from passive imagery

Colin N. Reinhardt; D. Wayne; K. McBryde; G. Cauble

doi:10.1117/12.2023382

25 September 2013 Extracting atmospheric turbulence and aerosol characteristics from passive imagery

Colin N. Reinhardt, D. Wayne, K. McBryde, G. Cauble

Proceedings Volume 8874, Laser Communication and Propagation through the Atmosphere and Oceans II; 88740F (2013) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2023382
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2013, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Obtaining accurate, precise and timely information about the local atmospheric turbulence and extinction conditions and aerosol/particulate content remains a difficult problem with incomplete solutions. It has important applications in areas such as optical and IR free-space communications, imaging systems performance, and the propagation of directed energy. The capability to utilize passive imaging data to extract parameters characterizing atmospheric turbulence and aerosol/particulate conditions would represent a valuable addition to the current piecemeal toolset for atmospheric sensing. Our research investigates an application of fundamental results from optical turbulence theory and aerosol extinction theory combined with recent advances in image-quality-metrics (IQM) and image-quality-assessment (IQA) methods. We have developed an algorithm which extracts important parameters used for characterizing atmospheric turbulence and extinction along the propagation channel, such as the refractive-index structure parameter C²_n , the Fried atmospheric coherence width r₀ , and the atmospheric extinction coefficient β_ext , from passive image data. We will analyze the algorithm performance using simulations based on modeling with turbulence modulation transfer functions. An experimental field campaign was organized and data were collected from passive imaging through turbulence of Siemens star resolution targets over several short littoral paths in Point Loma, San Diego, under conditions various turbulence intensities. We present initial results of the algorithm’s effectiveness using this field data and compare against measurements taken concurrently with other standard atmospheric characterization equipment. We also discuss some of the challenges encountered with the algorithm, tasks currently in progress, and approaches planned for improving the performance in the near future.

Citation Download Citation

Colin N. Reinhardt, D. Wayne, K. McBryde, and G. Cauble "Extracting atmospheric turbulence and aerosol characteristics from passive imagery", Proc. SPIE 8874, Laser Communication and Propagation through the Atmosphere and Oceans II, 88740F (25 September 2013); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2023382

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available