Towards Cn2 parity between imaging-based simulation and measurement
Abstract
Optical turbulence in the atmosphere causes defocus, blur, and wander of images captured over long distances, which can significantly degrade their quality. Turbulence is a manifestation of variations in the index of refraction, which are caused by local variations in air temperature, pressure, humidity, gas content, and other factors. Turbulence can be quantified by the refractive index structure function parameter Cn2. Simulation of images after propagation through an atmosphere of a specific Cn2, along with measurement of the observed Cn2 from images, is thus of interest for a variety of agricultural, environmental, and defense applications. We discuss the generation of simulated imagery after propagation through an atmosphere of a defined Cn2 using various algorithms, then examine methods to determine the observed Cn2 from the generated images. Finally, we choose and test an algorithm to generate images and another to estimate Cn2, then compare and contrast the observed Cn2 to the defined Cn2 in each case to observe how the simulation method and measurement method perform.
Publication Title
Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Recommended Citation
Watson, T., Dasgupta, A., Foti, D., & Jacobs, E. (2024). Towards Cn2 parity between imaging-based simulation and measurement. Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering, 13045 https://doi.org/10.1117/12.3013902
