A maritime environment presents a complex problem for propagating a laser through its turbulent nature. The environment includes standard aerosols, sea surface spray, and atmospheric turbulence when propagating along horizontal, vertical, or slant angled paths. Atmospheric measurements of the turbulence structure (Cn 2) and Fried’s coherence length (r0) were taken in a maritime environment using an IR Laser beacon at 1.06 microns mounted on an unmanned aerial system (UAS) at varying distances and slant angles using a Differential Image Motion Monitor (DIMM) and Wide-Angle Teleradiometric Transmissometer (WATT). The DIMM measured the coherence length, r0 and atmospheric turbulence strength, Cn 2 from the IR Laser beacon source as it propagated through the atmosphere. The WATT measured the transmissivity of the IR Laser beacon through the atmosphere.
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