The performance of free-space optical applications can be improved using beams of different wavelengths for the auxiliary actions of pointing/tracking or turbulence correction. Chromatic dispersion owing to the atmosphere is an issue for multiwavelength systems, and the dispersion of electromagnetic signals is typically predicted based on refractive conditions from standard atmospheric models. However, for long near-horizontal paths near the Earth’s surface, substantial refractive index gradients that are associated with features such as inverse temperature layers and ducts can be encountered. These features can significantly alter the ray trajectory, the chromatic divergence, and the angle of arrival of directional beams relative to standard atmosphere predictions. A ray tracing approach was implemented to examine the chromatic divergence and angle of arrival of the rays through various practical and extreme atmospheric conditions involving a temperature inversion layer. Over a distance of 150 km along the ground, a brief encounter with the layer can cause pairs of rays with wavelengths 532 and 1550 nm to diverge up to 4.5 times greater than their standard atmosphere predictions. For a single wavelength, a linear increase of angle of arrival with initial launch angle was found for the standard atmosphere, but this trend was significantly altered in the presence of an inversion layer. Extreme refractive conditions with a large inversion layer were simulated to produce optical ducting over long distances. Chromatic separation of rays as large as 280 m was observed when only one of the two wavelengths remained in the duct.

We develop and study two approaches for the prediction of optical refraction effects in the lower atmosphere. Refraction can cause apparent displacement or distortion of targets when viewed by imaging systems or produce steering when propagating laser beams. Low-cost, time-lapse camera systems were deployed at two locations in New Mexico to measure image displacements of mountain ridge targets due to atmospheric refraction as a function of time. Measurements for selected days were compared with image displacement predictions provided by (1) a ray-tracing evaluation of numerical weather prediction data and (2) a machine learning algorithm with measured meteorological values as inputs. The model approaches are described and the target displacement prediction results for both were found to be consistent with the field imagery in overall amplitude and phase. However, short time variations in the experimental results were not captured by the predictions where sampling limitations and uncaptured localized events were factors.

Part I of this two-part paper uses wave-optics simulations to look at the Monte Carlo averages associated with turbulence and steady-state thermal blooming (SSTB). The goal is to investigate turbulence thermal blooming interaction (TTBI). At wavelengths near 1  μm, TTBI increases the amount of constructive and destructive interference (i.e., scintillation) that results from high-power laser beam propagation through distributed-volume atmospheric aberrations. As a result, we use the spherical-wave Rytov number and the distortion number to gauge the strength of the simulated turbulence and SSTB. These parameters simplify greatly given propagation paths with constant atmospheric conditions. In addition, we use the log-amplitude variance and the branch-point density to quantify the effects of TTBI. These metrics result from a point-source beacon being backpropagated from the target plane to the source plane through the simulated turbulence and SSTB. Overall, the results show that the log-amplitude variance and branch-point density increase significantly due to TTBI. This outcome poses a major problem for beam-control systems that perform phase compensation.

Part II of this two-part paper uses wave-optics simulations to look at the Monte Carlo averages associated with turbulence and time-dependent thermal blooming (TDTB). The goal is to investigate turbulence thermal blooming interaction (TTBI). At wavelengths near 1  μm, TTBI increases the amount of constructive and destructive interference (i.e., scintillation) that results from high-power laser beam propagation through distributed-volume atmospheric aberrations. As a result, we use the spherical-wave Rytov number, the number of wind-clearing periods, and the distortion number to gauge the strength of the simulated turbulence and TDTB. These parameters simply greatly given propagation paths with constant atmospheric conditions. In addition, we use the log-amplitude variance and the branch-point density to quantify the effects of TTBI. These metrics result from a point-source beacon being backpropagated from the target plane to the source plane through the simulated turbulence and TDTB. Overall, the results show that the log-amplitude variance and branch-point density increase significantly due to TTBI. This outcome poses a major problem for beam-control systems that perform phase compensation.