Ship-to-ship propagation: Maritime data analyses

An analysis of two sets of atmospheric optical and supporting meteorological data has been performed. The first data set was taken by an airborne differential absorption lidar (DIAL) system. From this data set, vertical water vapor density profiles were extracted and used to calculate transmittances for CW and pulsed DF lasers. Thermal blooming calculations also were made to compare the performance of a laser optimized using a standard atmosphere water profile with a laser optimized using DIAL-derived profiles. The difference was found to be small for the conditions used here. The second data set consisted of long-path atmospheric transmittance and radiosonde measurements made in support of a long focal length imaging demonstration (LFLID). Measured transmittances were compared with LOWTRAN 6 transmittance calculations. Good agreement was obtained in the 3 to 5 micrometer range. Comparisons for the 8 to 12 micrometer region showed calculated transmittances about a factor of 10 lower than measured values.