Abstract
Recently, remote sensing systems for measuring atmospheric pressure have been proposed which utilize the dispersion in the atmospheric refractivity as the basis for their operation.1-4 However, since this dispersion is small, timing ocean surface reflections from simultaneously transmitted pulses at different wavelengths must be performed to picosecond-level accuracies. For example, when utilizing the 532-and 355-nm harmonics from a mode-locked Nd:YAG laser and transmitting through the entire atmosphere at nadir, 1.4-psec timing accuracies are required for a 1-mbar pressure accuracy. Since the ocean surface depth profile within the illuminating footprint can contribute several nanoseconds of temporal spread in the return,5 high correlation between the dual-wavelength returns is critical for accurate pressure measurements.
© 1984 Optical Society of America
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