Comparison of modelled atmospheric aerosol content and its influence on high-energy laser propagation

Aleid Oosterwijk; Stephanie Heikamp; Astrid Manders-Groot; A. M. (Lex) J. van Eijk

doi:10.1117/12.2529949

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6 September 2019 Comparison of modelled atmospheric aerosol content and its influence on high-energy laser propagation

Aleid Oosterwijk, Stephanie Heikamp, Astrid Manders-Groot, A. M. (Lex) J. van Eijk

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Proceedings Volume 11133, Laser Communication and Propagation through the Atmosphere and Oceans VIII; 111330C (2019) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2529949
Event: SPIE Optical Engineering + Applications, 2019, San Diego, California, United States

Abstract

Aerosol content of the atmosphere is an important factor in the propagation of high-energy laser (HEL) beams. Aerosol absorption leads to the thermal blooming effect, where the laser beam heats the air and thereby creates a diverging lens. We have used three methods to estimate the aerosol absorption coefficient: (1) a Mie calculation on experimentally determined size distributions, (2) the parametric Advanced Navy Aerosol Model (ANAM), and (3) the chemical transport model LOTOS-EUROS. Individual estimates of the absorption coefficient differ significantly, which in turn impacts greatly on the extent of thermal blooming and HEL-beam propagation.

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Aleid Oosterwijk, Stephanie Heikamp, Astrid Manders-Groot, and A. M. (Lex) J. van Eijk "Comparison of modelled atmospheric aerosol content and its influence on high-energy laser propagation", Proc. SPIE 11133, Laser Communication and Propagation through the Atmosphere and Oceans VIII, 111330C (6 September 2019); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2529949

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