Dependence of atmospheric refractive index structure parameter (C-n(2)) on the residence time and vertical distribution of aerosols

摘要

Effects of absorbing atmospheric aerosols in modulating the tropospheric refractive index structure parameter (C-n(2)) are estimated using high resolution radiosonde and multi-satellite data along with a radiative transfer model. We report the influence of variations in residence time and vertical distribution of aerosols in modulating C-n(2) and why the aerosol induced atmospheric heating needs to be considered while estimating a free space optical communication link budget. The results show that performance of the link is seriously affected if large concentrations of absorbing aerosols reside for a long time in the atmospheric path. (C) 2017 Optical Society of America