Maritime Photonics: Advances in Laser Propagation and Sensing

Dear Colleagues,

Understanding laser propagation is crucial for a wide range of applications, encompassing free-space optical communications, lidar remote sensing (both airborne and underwater), and directed energy systems (above the surface). However, the maritime environment presents a unique and formidable challenge for modeling and utilizing laser propagation effectively. The dynamic nature of the ocean surface profoundly impacts the underlying mechanisms capable of perturbing a propagating laser beam.

Above the surface, scattering, absorption, and turbulence are demonstrably affected by the air/water interface. Aerosol content is affected by the sea state and wind speed, as are turbulence, humidity, and other factors. Below the surface, particulate matter, especially in the euphotic zone, greatly reduces transmission distances.

The overarching goals of this Special Issue encompass promoting a comprehensive grasp of laser propagation dynamics both above and beneath the ocean surface. Our aim is to leverage this understanding across a spectrum of critical applications, including but not limited to communication systems, directed energy, atmospheric compensation technologies, laser power beaming, and the advancement of lidar and remote sensing methodologies.

Suggested topics include the following:

• Novel Approaches for Sensing Atmospheric Influences on Laser Propagation: Advanced methodologies in atmospheric sensing, such as image analysis, lidar, and emerging sensors.
• Advancements in Atmospheric Compensation Techniques for Maritime Laser Propagation: Effectiveness and practicality of various atmospheric compensation techniques and hardware solutions in mitigating distortions and enhancing laser propagation performance over maritime domains.
• Enhancing Optical Propagation Modeling for Speed and Fidelity: Advancements in modeling techniques enable faster simulations with higher precision, enabling extensive sensitivity studies, AI model training, and real-time prediction on laser propagation performance.
• Utilizing Structured Light for Enhanced Maritime Laser Applications: Assessing the suitability and advantages of employing structured light modalities, including vortex beams and orbital angular momentum (OAM) beams, for laser communication and directed energy systems.
• Underwater Laser Communication and Lidar Technologies: Methodologies, hardware developments, and experimental findings pertaining to underwater laser communication and lidar systems.
• Characterization of Scattering and Absorption in the Maritime Water Column: Investigating the scattering and absorption phenomena within the water column, including the euphotic zone, through precise measurements and analyses.
• Interplay Between Ocean Sea State and Atmospheric Conditions: Examining the intricate relationship between oceanic sea state dynamics and atmospheric conditions within the boundary layer, including turbulence, refraction, aerosol content, and extinction phenomena.
• Advances in Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) in a Maritime Environment: Enhancements to NWP models and evaluating their performance to predict optical properties over the ocean.
• Mathematical Methods to Determine Optimal Fusion of Local Sensor Data and NWP Model Forecasts: Investigation of variational data assimilation to improve NWP.
• Sensitivity and Uncertainty for Laser Propagation Models: Identifying parametric regions of in which models perform well, and where they perform poorly.
• Integrating Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence for Atmospheric Sensing: Using machine learning or artificial intelligence to enhance turbulence measurements or prediction.

Dr. Keith Cohn
Dr. Conor Pogue
Dr. Stephen Hammel
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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• optical turbulence
• maritime environment
• atmospheric boundary layer
• lidar
• adaptive optics
• imaging through turbulence
• laser communications
• laser propagation
• atmospheric sensing
• numerical weather prediction
• machine learning/artificial intelligence