Laser beam propagation over the sea surface: experimental data and verification of simulations

We present a new analysis of laser propagation experiments carried out with the Laser Propagation Testbed (LPT) developed by TNO. A major goal of these experiments is to validate and improve atmospheric propagation models that are essential to applications such as laser communication, high energy laser weapon systems and remote sensing. The data were obtained during a field campaign with a 1W 1556 nm laser beam deployed over a 3.6 km maritime path in The Netherlands. The measurements consist of intensity profiles of the propagated laser beam and local meteorological and atmospheric conditions (visibility, refractive index structure parameter and aerosol data) obtained during a ten day period under varying weather conditions. We use the locally measured atmospheric conditions and numerical weather prediction to constrain a turbulent laser propagation model developed by TNO, and compare the results with the time series measurements of the laser beam profile.