52 5 PAULL. RUBEN Vol.

54

While the numerical agreement in the comparison
is not precise, it does point out that the equations
derived provide as good an approximation to the
aberrations of a system in the presence of tilts and
decentrations as the widely used third-order aberrations
equations provide for a centered system. It is foreseen
that the expressions derived may some day be pro-
grammed for electronic computing machinery. By use
of these formulas, previously tedious and uncertain
tasks such as setting tolerances on tilts and decen-
trations for optical designs may become routine and
simple operations.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The author wishes to thank Mr. Erwin Delano of
St. John Fisher College for his guidance and encourage-
ment in this effort. The supervision and helpful sug-
gestions of Dr. Robert E. Hopkins of the University of
Rochester are greatly appreciated.

JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA VOLUME 54, NUMBER 1 JANUARY 1964

Modulation Transfer Function Associated with Image Transmission

through Turbulent Media
R. E. HUFNAGEL AND N. R. STANLEY*
The Perkin-Elmer Corporation,Norwalk, Connecticut 06851
(Received 19 June 1963)

The aim of this paper is to determine exactly the optical transfer function corresponding to the time-
averaged image-degrading effects of atmospheric turbulence. First the average transfer function is shown
to be related to the spatial coherence function for the light entering the imaging system. Next an exact
closed solution is found for the coherence propagation equation. This yields the desired coherence function in
terms of the statistics of the random fluctuations of the atmospheric index of refraction. Published meteoro-
logical data are analyzed to determine empirical values for the required index statistics. Of particular
interest is the variation of turbulent index fluctuations with altitude. Finally, quantitative predictions of
image degradation are made and shown to agree with observed data.

1. INTRODUCTION considerable averaging will take place in exposures of

TURBULENCE in the atmosphere between a point
object and an optical imaging system causes the
image of that point to be degraded in several ways. The
image will fluctuate randomly in both intensity and
position, and at any instant in time will generally have
a larger and/or more irregular blur circle than that cor-
responding to the imaging system without turbulence.
In similar ways, atmospheric turbulence will also de-
grade the image of an extended object. The exact
amount and nature of the image degradation will vary
with time for any point in the field of view and will vary
with field angle for any fixed time. The process is
random and complicated.
As with many random processes, it is desirable to
think in terms of statistical averages rather than
individual random events, if in so doing one does not
lose significant information. This is often the case when
one records images photographically, since the image-
degradation fluctuations will already be averaged to
some degree over the film exposure time. Indeed, since
the degradations change considerably over intervals
as short as a few hundredths of a second,' it is clear that
* Now at Belfer Graduate School of Science, Yeshiva Uni-
versity, New York City.
I S. Q. Duntley, J. Soc. Motion Picture Television Engs. 67,
231 (1958).
corresponding durations.
This paper is concerned with those image-degrading
effects of turbulence which remain after the image has
been averaged over a long time. Since the averaged
degrading effects are uniform over reasonable field
angles, the lens system with turbulence has isoplanatic
regions in its field, and one may describe the averaged
image-degrading effect in terms of an optical transfer
function. It is the aim of this paper to calculate this
transfer function.
There are three parts to the task. First, one must find
how to calculate the transfer function from a knowledge
of the appropriate statistical properties of the light
which enters the imaging system after passing through
the region of turbulence. Second, one must find how the
statistical properties of this light are related to the
statistical properties of the intervening turbulent at-
mosphere. Third, one must estimate the turbulent
properties of the atmosphere. At the end of the paper,
the pieces of the theory are joined together and pre-
dicted results compared with experimental observations.
2. TRANSFER FUNCTIONS
Consider the system illustrated in Fig. 1 in which the
object is a point (not shown), on the z axis, which is
January1964 IMAGE TRANSMISSION
OF IMAGE
NG SYSTEM
IMAGE
/PLANE
FIG. 1. System geometry showing coordinate systems used.
imaged by the lens onto an image plane. The coordi-
nates t and q are measured on the surface of a reference
sphere of radius R centered at the image point Q which
is at the intersection of the image plane and the z axis.
For ease of analysis and presentation, the object point
is restricted to lie so far to the left of the region of
turbulence that the waves which it emits are essentially
plane by the time they arrive at the region of turbulence.
This restriction will be removed in a future paper.'
The system optical transfer function (including the
averaged effects of turbulence) is the normalized
Fourier transform of the average light intensity dis-
tribution in the image plane as caused by a point object.3
This quantity is calculated by first finding the Fourier
transform of the instantaneous intensity distribution
and then performing the averaging operation.
If q (fr, f,) t) is the spatial Fourier transform of the
light intensity distribution in the image plane at time
t, then by a generalization of a formula given by Born
and Wolf3 it follows that
(XR)
2
f f V(x+x',y+y',L,t)
X V(x'y',~t)(S~+Svrl'rw)*(t',r')dv'dl',(2.1)
where V(x,y,z,t) is the complex scalar representation of
the electromagnetic wave emanating from the point
object, G(Q,,) is the pupil function of the lens system
(without turbulence), X is the wavelength of the light,
and an asterisk indicates the complex conjugate. In
Eq. (2.1), the points (x',y') and (x+x', y+y') cor-
respond to the points (t',77') and (Q+ ', 77+n'), respec-
tively, in that a ray initially parallel to the z axis
passing through one of the former points will, after
going through the lens, pass also through the cor-
2 R. E. Hufnagel and N. R. Stanley, "The Propagation of
Average Mutual Coherence from a Point Source in a Random
Medium" (to be published).
I M. Born and E. Wolf, Principles of Optics (Pergamon Press,
Inc., New York, 1959), pp. 479-484.
THROUGH TURBULENT MEDIA 53
53
responding latter point. Without loss of generality,
we may assume a thin lens of large focal length, and we
may set R equal to the focal length. Within the aper-
ture, the plane z=L then closely matches the spherical
surface of radius R, thus giving (x',y')= (Q',77') and
(x+x', y+y')= (t+ ', n+n') in Eq. (2.1).
Angle brackets () are used to indicate a time average
of the enclosed quantity. When averages are taken on
both sides of Eq. (2.1), the result is
x y t\ 1= +. +
CR
X OR i/ (XR)2| X Zx tyy L)
X V* (x',y',L,t) )G(x+x',y+y');*(x',y')dx'dy'. (2.2)
The quantity (V(x+x',y+y',L,t)V*(x',y',L,t)) may
be regarded as an average mutual coherence factor for V.
The word "average" here is redundant in the definition
of coherence but is included to emphasize that the
averaging smooths not only the variations in V asso-
ciated with the optical frequencies w=27r/X, but also
the (usually) much slower variations in V caused by
the turbulent atmospheric fluctuations.
Equation (2.2) is simplified through the assumption
that the random process for V(x,y,z,t) is locally sta-
tionary with respect to translations in x and y. For this
assumption to be valid it is sufficient that the light
which is scattered into the lens aperture be initially
uniform in the z= 0 plane and that the intervening
turbulent random processes be locally stationary with
respect to x and y translations. In the free atmosphere
this condition on the turbulence is generally satisfied.
Under these assumptions, the average mutual coher-
ence factor is independent of x' and y'. This may be
expressed by setting
(V(x+x', y+y', z, t)V*(x',y',zt))=M(x,y; z), (2.3)
thus defining M. Note that x and y are correlation dis-
tance variables and that z is a position parameter.
Since M does not depend on the variables of integration,
Eq. (2.2) becomes
g= M (xy ;L)- 2
XR )XR(XR)
+Xc +cc
Xf G(xx',y+y')G*(x',y')dx'dy'. (2.4)
Note that the integral is the unnormalized optical
transfer function for the image-forming lens.3 One may
assume that the light entering the aperture has unit
average intensity, so that M(0,0; L)=1. With the
required normalizations, Eq. (2.4) becomes
(T(fxfV))= M(XRf.,XRfs,; L)TL(fx,fy), (2.5)
where (T) is the over-all system average optical transfer
function, TL is the lens optical transfer function, and
 R. E. HUFNAGEL
f, and f, are spatial frequencies in the image plane. One
may regard M as the average transfer function for see-
ing through the random medium. Equation (2.5) is
useful for describing time-invariant random media if
the time averages are replaced by ensemble averages.
3. WAVE EQUATION
The following vector notation is used:
r-~(x,y,z), p-=(x,y).
The wave equation for the propagation of V through a
lossless nonhomogeneous medium is4
V2 V- (n/c)2 2V/,0t 2=0, (3.1)
where V2 is the three-dimensional Laplacian operator,
c is the speed of light in vacuum, and n= n(r,t) is the
local index of refraction. It is assumed, in writing this
equation, that n does not change appreciably over
distances of the order of the electromagnetic wave-
length X, or in times of the order of X/c. The quantity
N(r,l), the normalized fluctuating part of n, is defined
by
(,!) )(r]/n r),
1V(~t)n (3.2)
where n(r) is the local time average of n. For this paper
it is permissible to assume, without loss of generality,
that n is constant in space and equal to unity. If N is
everywhere zero, a solution of Eq. (3.1) corresponding
to a plane wave propagating in the positive z direction
is
V(r,t)=A expEi(kz-wt)], (3.3)
where k = 27r/X, X is the wavelength 5 of light being con-
sidered, co= kc, and A is a constant. The solution of Eq.
(3.1) for NlO is the same as in Eq. (3.3) except that A
is no longer a constant but, instead, obeys the equation
V2A (r,t)+2ikOA (r,)/laz+2k2N (r,t)A (r,t)=0. (3.4)
This equation may be readily obtained by substituting
Eqs. (3.2) and (3.3) with A =A (r,t) into Eq. (3.1). The
rule for differentiation of products must be applied and
one must drop terms which contain N2 or time deriva-
tives of A. These terms may be ignored when dealing
with atmospheric turbulence because IN«<<1, and
because N, and hence A, does not change appreciably
1 A(r)=Ao 1---2
over times of the order of w- . There do not yet exist
general analytical techniques for the exact solution of
equations of the type exemplified by Eq. (3.4). How-
ever, three approximation techniques have been de-
4V. I. Tatarski, Wave Propagation in a Turbulent M11ediuon
(McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1961), pp. 93-97.
5 For clarity of presentation, it is implied throughout this paper
that the light is monochromatic, but this restriction does not
appear to be essential to the basic argument or (for quasimono-
chromatic light) to the final results. To dncnonlsratc this it is
sufficient to see that Eq. (4.4) results from the propagation equa-
tions for mutual coherence' when the light is quasimonochromatic
and techniques are applied which are analogous to those used here.
6 G. B. Parrent, Jr., R. A. Shore, and T. J. Skinner, J. Math.
Phys. 3, 678 (1962).
AND N. R. STANLEY Vol. 54
veloped by various investigators. It is instructive and
useful for our later work to examine each briefly, as
follows.
A. Ray-Tracing Approximation
By ignoring the V2A term in Eq. (3.4), one ignores
the effects of diffraction and scintillation. 4 However, the
resulting equation can be solved to yield a solution7
(3.5)
A (x,y,z)= Ao exp[ikf N(x,y,z')dz'],
where A o is an initial value at z= 0. This technique has
been used, for example, by Keller8 and Reiger.Y As has
been observed by several workers,' 0-'2 however, diffrac-
tion effects are quite significant if the optical path
exceeds a few tens of meters and thus clearly may not
be ignored when considering the earth's atmosphere.
It is possible to estimate scintillation by using Eq.
(3.5) as a zero-order iterative solution of Eq. (3.4) and
computing the first iterated solution. Many workers 4' 9",3
have used this technique or an equivalent one, but the
results are limited because diffraction effects are not
suitably accounted for.
B. Method of Small Perturbations
Under the assumption that A is perturbed only
slightly from its initial value A o, one may substitute A 0
for A in the last term of Eq. (3.4) to obtain a linear
second-order differential equation which does account
for both scintillation and diffraction effects. The solu-
tion of this modified equation is14'1 '
A ik2 r 1
A(r)=Ao I--I -e ik[q-(z-z') 1V(r')dv' ' (3.6)
2
7r v q
where q= Jr-r' I and dv'= dx'dy'dz'.
When the scattering angles are small, it is permissible
to expand q in a sagittal approximation to obtain
(3.7)
q= (Z-Z')+2 IP-P,12/(Z-Z')+ ..
which, when substituted into Eq. (3.6), yields
ik2 .A(r')~
X ikIp - p' 2-
exp dv' , (3.8)
ir J Lz-z'i 2(z-z') -
7 For the remainder of this paper, the explicit dependence of
A and N on time I is usually not written.
8 G. Keller, Astron. J. 58, 113 (1953).
9S. H. Reiger, "Atmospheric Turbulence and the Scintillation of
Starlight," The Rand Corporation Report No. R-406-PR (1962).
10C. G. Little, Monthly Notices Roy. Astron. Soc. (London)
111, 289 (1951).
11D. J. Portman, F. C. Elder, E. Ryznar, and V. E. Noble, J.
Geophys. RCs. 67, 3223 (1962).
12V. I. Tatarski, Ref. 4, p. 210.
13L. A. Chernov, Wave Propagation in a Random Medium
(McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York, 1960), pp. 28-34.
14 V. I. Tatarski, Ref. 4, pp. 122-128.
15 L. A. Chernov, Ref. 13, pp. 58-67.
January1964 IMAGE TRANSMISSION THROUGH TURBULENT MEDIA

where v is the infinite volume for which O<z'<z. It coherence function M given by Eq. (2.3) can be calcu-
should be noted that Eq., (3.8) gives the solution which lated easily and exactly without ever solving explicitly
would have been obtained 4"5 directly from Eq. (3.4) for V or A.
with Ao substituted for A in the last term and with On combining Eq. (3.3) and (2.3) and using vector
a2A/az2 omitted from the Laplacian V2A. Thus, using notation, it follows that
the lateral Laplacian V2=2 2 /ax2 +a 2 /0y 2 is equivalent
to the approximation made to obtain Eq. (3.7). It is M(p; z) = (A (p+p', z, t)A*(p',z,t))- (4.1)
well-known"6 that, in practice, A is often perturbed The next step is to obtain the differential equation for
greatly from its initial value A 0 and that the perturba- M by using Eq. (3.4) for A. The following notation is
tion approach has limited value. used:
P+ P, pi (Xlxyl) X
C. Rytov's Method
P=P2- (X 2 ,y 2 ).
In an attempt to overcome this limitation, Rytov
employed a different technique to simplify Eq. (3.4). Under the assumption of small scattering angles,'4" 5 the
In effect, he made the transformation'4" 5 lateral Laplacian is used in accordance with the discus-
sion following Eq. (3.6); thus, the following definitions
A (r) = A oexpB (r), (3.9) are used:
which, when substituted into Eq. (3.4), yields v 12 = a2 /aX,2 + a 2 /ay 2 ,

V 2 B(r)+VB(r) V B(r)+2ik *V.B (r)+2k2 N(r) = 0, V22= ( 2 /(X 2 2 + a 2/ay 22 .

(3.10)
where k is a vector of magnitude k in the direction of
propagation (the positive z-direction). Rytov reasoned
that IvB-VBI was small compared to !2k.VBI or
I 2k2N I and that it therefore could be dropped from Eq.
(3.10). What Rytov and his followers' 4"15"l7 apparently
have failed to realize is that if IB I1, then VB VBI
is of the same order of magnitude' 8 as V2B . Without
further justification, one therefore has no more reason
for dropping VB- VB than he has for dropping V2B.
If both terms are dropped, the solution is given by Eq.
(3.5).
The three techniques discussed above and their
equivalents are, to the authors' knowledge, the only
methods which have been used to date to approximately
solve Eq. (3.4) or its equivalent. As has been shown,
all three techniques suffer from serious drawbacks when
used to analyze actual atmospheric seeing effects.
4. STATISTICAL SOLUTION OF THE
WAVE EQUATION
While the exact solution of Eq. (3.1) and (3.4) for
V and A, respectively, are of obvious iterest, it is im-
portant to recall that for the present purpose it is neces-
sary only to compute a statistically averaged quantity.
The central result of this paper is that the average
10V. I. Tatarski, Ref. 4, p. 238.
17H. Scheffler, Astron. Nachr. 285, 21 (1958).
18To illustrate this, let B=X+io and k=105 cm-'. An rms
image shimmer of 0.4 arc second = 2X 10-6 radian corresponds to
VO,-:~2X 10- 6k =0.2 cm-,. Since image shimmer decreases rapidly
for apertures over 10 cm in diameter, it follows that VO must
change appreciably in the same distance. Hence v'0O0.O2 cm- 29.
Since the variations (scintillation shadow bands) appear visually"
as "blobs" of diameter = 10 cm, it follows, for x- 1, that Vx : 0.1
cmI and V2x=0.Ol cm<.
With these changes, Eq. (3.4) for A (pi,z) becomes
V,2A (p1,z)+2ika0A (p1,z)/Oz+2k 2N(p1,z)A (p,,z) = 0.
(4.2)
The corresponding equation for A*(p2,z) is
V22A * (P 2 ,Z) - 2ikOA * (P 2 ,Z)/az+ 2k2 N (P2,Z)A * (p 2 ,Z) = 0.
(4.3)
Next, each term in Eq. (4.2) is multiplied by A*(p2 ,Z);
each term in Eq. (4.3) is multiplied by A (pi,z); the
second modified equation is subtracted from the first;
the resulting equation is averaged term by term to
obtain
(A*(P2,Z)Vl2A (pl,z) )- (A (pl,z)V21A*(P2,Z) )
+ 2ikO(A * (p 2 ,z)A (pi,z))/Oz
+ 2k 2 (A * (P 2 ,z)A (piz)[N (p,,z) -N (p 2 ,z)] )= 0- (4.4)
In obtaining the middle term of Eq. (4.4), use is
made of the identity
(Uav/az)+ (vau/az))- ((a/az) (uV)),
and the (a/az) operator is brought outside the averag-
ing operator. Appendix I justifies these operations.
In Appendix II it is shown that, as a consequence of
the lateral stationariness of the random process forA, the
first two averages in Eq. (4.4) are equal. Therefore,
(A * (p2 ,z)V 2A (pl,z))- (A (p,,z)V2 2A * (p 2 ,z))= 0- (4.5)
This is a decisive simplification, for Eq. (4.4) is now
easily seen to have a solution (see Appendix III), given
by
M= (A*(P 2,z)A (p1,z))=

>
19 M. H. Wimbush, "Optical Astronomical Seeing: a Review,"
U. S. Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratory, Report No. 697 (exp ikf [N(ps,z')-N(p 2 ,z')]dz' (4.6)
(1961), pp. 6-13.
56 R. E. HUFNAGEL AND N. R. STANLEY Vol. 54

for A satisfying the initial condition A (p,O) E 1. It is im- Eq. (5.3) for each of the four terms in the identity
portant to recognize that Eq. (4.6) does not imply (5.4), it is found that each of the four structure func-
equality of the two quantities within the respective tions has arguments equivalent to the arguments of
averaging brackets. one of the other structure functions. Thus, the four
It is even more important, however, to recognize functions can be combined in pairs to yield a result ex-
that in applying Eq. (4.5), diffraction and scintillation pressed in terms of only two structure functions:
effects are not ignored-in contrast with the procedure
used to obtain Eq. (3.5). Rather, it is rigorously shown
that in determining the average coherence function, the (S2 )=f dz'f dz"[DN (r";z')-DN(Z" ;Z')], (5.9)
efects of diffraction exactly cancel the effects of scintilla-
where
tion, when the medium is random and laterally, sta- 2 +(z") 2 }1
tistically stationary.
r" =E I|P-p 2
Z"=Z1-Z2 (5.10)
5. FORMULATION OF M IN TERMS OF Zfi
= 2 (Zl+Z2)
A STATISTIC OF N

By the central limit theorem, 20 the quantity S, de- and where the interval of integration for the inner
fined by integral is given by
lz"I <2z', for °<Z'<
S (P1,P2) [ N (pi,z') -N (p 2 ,z')]dz', (5.1) (5.11)
Iz" I < 2z-2z', for 'z<z'<zJ
has a Gaussian distribution with mean zero. It readily Because the integrand is very small for Z"I»>> I PI-P21 ,
follows that it is usually permissible in practical situations to replace
the two intervals of integration for z" indicated in Eq.
(expikS)= exp(- U2 (S2 )), (5.2) (5.11) by the one interval- o <z"<+ -o

where The next step is to determine DN for the earth's

turbulent atmosphere.
(52= dzif dz 2 (EN(p,,z,)-N(p2 ,z 1 )] 6. MODEL TURBULENT ATMOSPHERE

X EN(p,z 2 )Q-N(P2,Z2)) (5.3) The optical (X= 0.5 ,p) index of refraction for air is
The identity given by22
it= 1+80X 10- 6 P/6, (6.1)
(a-b) (c-d)
=='F(a-d) 2 + (b-C)2 - (a-C)2- (b-d)2] (5.4) where 0 is the temperature in degrees Kelvin and P is
the pressure in millibars. In a turbulent atmosphere,
makes the integrand in Eq. (5.3) expressible in terms of the relative temperature fluctuations are much stronger
four quantities of the form
DN a ([N (pi,z) - N (pk ,z )]2), (5.5) rABLE I. Observed values of C 0 .,
where the indices i, j, k, I can take the values 1 or 2.
The quantity DN is called the structure fulction2l for Altitude
above Maximum Average Minimum Number of
the random field for N. ground Co Co Co observations
The condition of local isotropy and lateral sta- (meters) observed observed observed reported Ref.
tionariness for the random process for N implies that DN 1.5 0.24 0.06 0.02 35 25
depends functionally on the separation distance Ar 22 0.07 0.02 0.01 35 25
100 ... 0.009 ... 2 28
between the pair of r= (p,z) points with a parametric 300 ... 0.006 ... 2 28
(slowly varying) dependence on the mean z value. 330 ... 0.019 0.005 5 23
That is, 450 0.03 0.017 0.013 7 23
600 0.03 ... <<0.01 ... 25
DN= DN (Ar; 2), (5.6) 750 ... 0.019 ... 1 23
where 900 ... 0.026 ... 1 23
Ari [j p-pie 12+ (Z-Z 1)2z1 (5.7) 1000 ... 0.004 ... 2 28
1500 ... 0.005 ... 2 28

z 2 (Zj+Z 0 - (5.8) a Co is the structure "constant" for the temperature fluctuations in the
0
atmosphere. It is defined by Eq. (6.3) and has the units C -cm-1. The Co
When Eq. (5.5) through (5.8) are substituted into values from Ref. 23 are computed from reported temperature power spectra
measurements.

20 H. Cramer, Mathematical Methods of Statistics (Princeton

University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1954), p. 213. 22 U. S. Air Force, Handbook of Geophysics (The Macmillan
21V. I. Tatarski, Ref. 4, pp. 8-12. Company, New York, 1960), pp. 13-2.
January1964 IMAGE TRANSMISSION THROUGH TURBULENT MEDIA 57

than the relative pressure fluctuations, 23 so that the E

14
index fluctuations may be directly related to the tem-
perature fluctuations. In terms of structure functions 12
this relation becomes
z
DN(rII,zl)-10-2[p (z/)/po]2Do (r/,z'), (6.2) 0 10

where (p/po) is the average atmospheric density at z' a:

a
relative to sea-level density. The temperature struc- a:
(2
ture function Do is defined by Eqs. (5.5) and (5.6), with 6
0 substituted everywhere for N.
On the basis of a theory for isotropic turbulence de- tIW
4
veloped by Kolmogoroff and others, 2 F28 it has been pre-
dicted that Do(r) should be of the form 27 1-
z 2
Do (r,z') = Co (z')ri. (6.3) 0a.
I ,,,,I I I , , ,, ,,, I

The term Co is called a structure constant and is given Ikm tokm 100 km
ALTITUDE
by
C% (z') = a28 1y2/8 (6.4) FIG. 3. Average potential temperature gradient 7, vs altitude,
computed from ARDC standard atmosphere (1959).
where a is a constant, 8 is the rate of energy per unit
Many workers have experimentally verified Eqs.
I000 (6.3) and (6.4). The value of the constant a has been
determined empirically by Tatarski2 5 to be equal to 2.4.
100 The parameters 8, 7, A,and hence Co, vary with altitude
E © 2 Ih, and meteorological conditions. To obtain the z' de-
pendence of Co it is necessary to relate z' to altitude It
10
'0 through a knowledge of the orientation of the system's
0©
0) z axis. Table I gives values of Co as determined by vari-
1.0 ous workers23 25 28 through direct measurements of Do
z
0 0 with rapidly responding thermometers. Unfortunately,
4 the measurements reported to date are all for altitudes
0.I
Q7 below 2 km. It is therefore necessary to use indirect
o methods to determine CO above this altitude.
0.01
, I
Towards this end, the literature was surveyed for
.I
lll
om loom ikm okm Bo0km data which would vield values for 8, y, and /3. The
ALTITUDE interpretation of reported data is difficult, since each
FIG. 2. Dissipation rate 8 vs altitude. The ctirve corresponds to of these quantities is a function of the other two.
an estimated average S. The symbols indic,ite experimentally Furthermore, there appears to be no satisfactory theory
observed points as reported in the literature e Symbols marked for predicting their functional interdependence, ex-
(o refer to Ref. 29; those marked ( refer to : Ref. 30; ® refer to
31; (D refer to 32; and (3 refer to 33. Points marked ® and ® cept for the lowest few hundred meters of the at-
were computed from reported wind spectral m easurements. mosphere. While some slight progress has been made
in relating these quantities, this paper will by-pass this
mass dissipated by viscous friction, and 1 is the average problem by reporting average values of 8, -y,and /3,thus
shear rate of the wind. The quantity -y is the average obtaining average values for Co.
vertical gradient of the potential teml)erature, and is 2 33
Figure 2 is a plot of observed& values of 8 as a
given by function of altitude h. The spread of points over three
-y= (dO/ahk)+ 0.98 X 10- (6.5) decades for any fixed altitude arises primarily because
8 varies approximately as the third power of /3.The line
in units of K0 /cm. in Fig. 2 shows the estimated geometric mean value for
"3E. E. Gossard, IRE Trans. Antennas Propagation 10, 186 8.
(1960).
24 J. 0. Hinze, Turbulence (McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 28 L. R. Zwang, Bull. Acad. Sci. USSR, Geophys. Ser. No. 8
New York, 1959), pp. 182-196. (Engi. Transl.) 1960, 1117.
22V. I. Tatarski, Ref. 4, pp. 40-58 and 189-197. 29H. H. Lettau, J. Meteorol. 18, 125 (1961).
26R. Bolgiano, J. Geophys. Res. 64, 2226 (1959). 30F. A. Gifford, J. Atmospheric Sci. 19, 205 (1962).
27 Equation (6.3) is valid only over the range ri <r<ro,where 2' U. S. Air Force, Ref. 22, pp. 5-12.
ri<3cm is called the inner scale of the turbulence and ro> 101cm 22 U. 0. Lappe and B. Davidson, "The Power Spectral Analysis
is called the outer scale of the turbulence. For the purposes of this of Concurrent Airplane and Tower Measurements of Atmospheric
paper this restriction is ignored, since it often has a negligible Turbulence," New York University College of Engineering Re-
effect on the final result. A4 future paper is planned which will treat search Division (1960).
this matter more exactly. 1 33 H. A. Panofsky, J. Geophys. Res. 67, 3161 (1962).
 R. E. HUFNAGEL AND N. R. STANLEY Vol. 54

It should be emphasized that Co and CN as given by

- .010 Figs. 5 and6 representaverage values only. In individual
situations significant departures from this average may
occur. Indeed, the averages shown may themselves be
S-
I
significantly in error. In particular, the values in the
l-km region are probably biased toward high values
since the empirical observations used to form the aver-
I I
age were made mostly during the daytime when the
(I
turbulence is generally greater than it is during the
IA night.
0

"I 7. PREDICTED TRANSFER FUNCTIONS AND

>.
COMPARISON WITH OBSERVATIONS

, , , , ,,,, I , . .,, L.L,,1 Substitution of Eqs. (6.2) (6.3), and (6.6) into Eq.
km iokm 100 km (5.9) gives
ALTITUDE

FIG. 4. Average wind shear f3 vs altitude, computed for 0.5

km vertical separations from published wind profile measure- oS2r = ) otp2+(Zei
dzCN2o(Zm )2]n (z")it dz", (7-1)
ments.s533 G -.00

Figures 3 and 4 are plots of observed geometric mean or upon computation of the inner integral
values of -y and 3, respectively, as functions of altitude
It. The values for -y are based on the standard ARDC (S 2 )== 2.91p5/3f CN2 (z')dz', (7.2)
model atmosphere.3 4 The sharp discontinuities in Fig.
3 result from the model atmosphere and are not physi-
cally significant. The f values are computed from re- where p= IPi-P21. For a horizontal path of length L
ported wind profiles,35' 36 and are averaged over several and altitude ho, the integrand in Eq. (7.2) is constant
observations. and hence
The resulting predicted values for the average Co as (ES(P)] 2 )= 2.91p513LCN2 , (7.3)
determined by Eq. (6.4) are shown in Fig. 5 as a dotted in which Fig. 6 is used with h=ho to find CN.
line. The data in Table I are also plotted and a line For a path through the entire atmosphere at an angle
drawn through these empirical points to yield average a from zenith (neglecting earth curvature effects), one
Co values for the lower altitudes. As can be seen, there has L-z'=h seca, where it is recalled (from Fig. 1)
is reasonable agreement between the computed and that L is the z-coordinate of the system entrance pupil.
observed values of CO in the 1-km region. For low alti- In this case, Eq. (7.2) becomes
tudes, theory25 predicts that Co should be proportional
to 1-r.
513
From Eq. (6.2), the structure constant CN for the (S 2 )= 2.91p secaf CN2 dh, (7.4)
optical index of refraction is related to Co by
CN_-106(p/po)C0. (6.6) where Fig. 6 is used to obtain CN2 as a function of h.
The solid line in Fig. 6 is a plot of CN vs altitude It as
determined from Eq. (6.6), with Co given in Fig. S.
The values of p/po used are for a standard ARDC 0.3

model atmosphere.3 The single point in Fig. 6 shown at 0.2

5.5 km is taken from a microwave refractometer meas- 0.'

urement made on a dry day by Crain.38 Microwave
refractometer data have not generally been used in this E0.05

paper because of the usually large but undetermined

:0
influence of water vapor density fluctuations in the I 0.02 0
troposphere.2 3 As can be seen, this single experimental
point for Ih> 2 km agrees with the predicted value. 0.01 "

.005
U. S. Air Force, Ref. 22, pp. 1-10.
"

35J. R. Scogginis, Proceedings of Nalional Symposiwum ontW'inds

for Aerospace Vehicle Design (U. S. Air Force Cambridge Research Im lom loom ikm lokm 1o0km
Laboratory, 1962), Vol. II, pp. 85-88. ALTITUDE ABOVE GROUND
'6 N. A. Engler and J. B. Wright, Ref. 35, pp. 127-149.
37U. S. Air Force, Ref. 22, pp. 1-13. FIG. 5. Temperature structure "constant" vs altitude. Empirical
38C. M. Crain, as quoted by S. H. Reiger on p. 29 of Ref. 9. points are from Table I.
January1964 IMAGE TRANSMISSION THROUGH TURBULENT MEDIA 59

The integral in Eq. (7.4) has been numerically evalu-

ated for the CN given in Fig. 6. The result is
2 z 0.8 ,-

f 2
CN dh= 6X 10-11 cm-.
0.6

0.4-

Equation (7.4) then becomes

0.2

([S(p)32 )= 1.7X 10-' 0p 51 3seca, (7.5)

0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25
where p is expressed in cm. A. SPATIAL FREQUENCY (CYCLES /ARC SECOND)

The average modulation transfer function, M, for

"seeing" through the turbulent atmosphere, is related
to ([S(p)j 2) through Eqs. (2.5), (4.1), (4.6), and (5.2).
The result is
M(XRf)= exp I-k2([S(p)]2)}, (7.6) Wq /

in which the spatial frequency f in the image plane is

given by f= p/XR and it is assumed that M is radially
symmetric in the spatial frequency plane (f2 ,f,).
Figure 7(A) is a plot of M vsf for (S2) as given by Eq.
-8 -6 -4 -2 0 +2 +4 +6 +8 +10 +12
ANGULAR DISTANCE FROM CENTER OF AVERAGE
BLUR CIRCLE ( ARC SECONDS)
(7.5) with a= 0, that is, for zenith viewing through the
whole atmosphere. Here f is given in cycles/arc-sec to FIG. 7. Average transfer function (A) and average intensity
distribution (B) for zenith viewing through whole earth's at-
make the results independent of system focal length, and mosphere.
X= 0.5 . The corresponding average intensity dis-
tribution (without lens degrading effects) of a star
half-width of typical daytime stellar images is about
image is shown in Fig. 7(B). This is, of course, just the
6 sec of arc, which agrees well with the predicted light
two-dimensional Fourier transform of M as given in
distribution shown in Fig. 7(B).
Fig. 7(A).
Hosfeld further states that the half-width of typical
In interpreting Fig. 7(B), one should recall that the
nighttime images is about half that of daytime images.
light distribution shown includes the averaged effect
This leads one to believe that, for h<5 km (where the
of image motion in addition to the instantaneous blur.
contribution of CN to (S 2 ) is greatest), the nighttime
In addition, for the CN values used, the angular size of
CN values are generally a factor of 2 less than the
the distribution is probably more appropriate to day-
corresponding daytime values.
time images than to nighttime images. On the basis of
As a second illustration, M(f) is computed for condi-
photoelectric measurements, Hosfeld39 reports that the
tions corresponding to an experiment performed by
Djurle and Back. 4 0 The path was horizontal with a path
10-7
length L= 7 miles= L.X 101 cm. The focal length was
R= 915 mm. The average optical path altitude above
ground is assumed to be h=50 m=5X10' cm. From
'1-'E\ Fig. 6 and Eq. (7.3), for the parameter values just
given, one has (in cgs units)
([S(p)2 ])= 9X 10-'0 p5 13 . (7.7)
~E7 For X=0.55A, one has k=27r/Xossl.IX105 cm-'. Equa-
tions (7.6) and (7.7) combine to give
M= exp(-0.041f 5 /3 ), (7.8)
where f is expressed in cycles/mm in the image plane.
In Fig. 8, M as given by Eq. (7.8) is plotted along with
observed nightly average values of M as reported by
10-'l
m1
In
I,, . 1,, 1 ,,,
inm
.I, -,l , 1 .I
loom
. I I . 1 -I, ,I
,,I
Ikm iokm
I .! I'l~l Djurle and Back. By inspection, it is apparent that the
ALTITUDE ABOVE GROUND predicted M(t) given by Eq. (7.8) is not in good agree-
FIG. 6. Index of refraction structure "constant" vs altitude. ment with the experimental data. This is not the fault
The circle at 5.5 km represents a direct empirical observation and of the theory, however, but the result of its (illustra-
is discussed in the text. tive) misapplication. The experiment was performed
39R. Hosfeld, "Measurements of the Size of Stellar Images,"
AFCRC-TN-55-873 Joint Scientific Report 2 (June 1955). 40E. Djurle and A. Back, J. Opt. Soc. Am. 51, 1029 (1961).
60 R. E. HUFNAGEL
AU0.6
Cz0.2 THOY F
PLANEWAVE TORY FOR" M 6
SOU1RCE IOINT SOURCE'
10 20
SPATIAL FREQUENCY ( cy/mM )
R=915mm FOCAL
FIG. 8. Comparison of the theory with the experimental
results of Djurle and Back.
with diverging light (from a point source), while the
theory [specifically, Eq. (4.6)] applies to light which
initially has a plane wavefront when it enters the at-
mosphere. When dealing with diverging light sources,
the effect of the inner scale of the turbulence also be-
comes significant, and must be accounted for in Eq.
(6.3).
It is beyond the scope of this paper to tell how to cor-
rect for these effects, but the dotted line in Fig. 8 is
the predicted result to be expected when the correc-
tions are made. It is obvious that, with these correc-
tions, good agreement is achieved between theory and
experiment. The relatively minor disagreement which
remains can be explained by "low experimental ac-
curacy for the higher spatial frequencies" and/or by
insufficient averaging time (20 msec) in the experi-
ment.4 0 Future papers2' 41 will describe these refinements
in greater detail.
APPENDIX I
Two preliminary mathematical results (Lemmas I.1
and I.2), needed for Appendices II and III and for
the derivation of Eq. (4.4) are obtained here.
It is convenient to define A (rs)A*(r2)=m (ri,r2 )
=m(ps,zl,p2,z2), in which rj= (pj,zj),(j= 1,2) are posi-
tion vectors. The V2 operators are lateral, as defined in
the text.
The following assumptions are made:
(1) For all x,y,z, the following derivatives exist:
(a) dA/dz, M/*/az;
(b) a2AI/x 2 , a2Al/ 0 y2,
a 2A l*/0x 2 , 0 A *jay .
(2) A (r) is a second-order random function, i.e.,
(IA(r)12 )<o for every r.
41R. E. Hufnagel, "The Effect of the Inner Scale of Atmospheric
Turbulence on the Propagation of Mutual Coherence" (to be
published).
AND N. R. STANLEY Vol. 54
(3) The random process for Alis:
(a) ergodic with respect to time;
(b) stationary with respect to p-translations.
Assumption 2 simply states that the average light
intensity is finite. Assumption 3 rests on the plausible
(though unproved) assumption that if (the random
process for) N has the properties 3(a) and 3(b), then
A, which is given (implicitly) as a function of N by
'
Eq. (2.4), has them too. The postulation of properties
3 (a) and 3 (b) for N is based on physical observations.
30 4, With Assumption 3(a) it is permissible to replace all
time averages by ensemble averages. Here and subse-
' ENGTH
quently () indicate ensemble averages.
Lemma I. 1. Given Assumptions 1, 2, and 3(a), then
the ensemble averaging operator () is commutative
with each of the respective operators a/azi, a/az 2 ,
V12 , and V22 , when applied to m(r1 ,r2); i.e.,
(0ma/z )=a(m)/az
1 1 ,(am/az2)= 0(m)/az 2 ; (I.1-1)
(V12m)= V1 2(m),(V 2im)= V22(m). (I.1.2)
Proof. Existence of the derivatives (in the usual limit
sense) specified by Assumption 1 implies their existence
in the quadratic mean sense.42 This fact and Assump-
tion 2 imply that taking any one of the specified deriva-
tives of m71and taking its average are commutative
operations 43 ; in particular, Eq. (I.1.1) holds. Since
() is a linear operator, Eq. (I.1.2) follows. (Q.E.D.)
The following lemma is used in obtaining the middle
term of Eq. (4.4)
Lemma I.2. Given Assumptions 1, 2, and 3(a), then
(a1m(p 1 ,z1 ,p2,z))/a0z 1)-,=I+(aM(pl,z,p2,z 2)/az2) 02=4.
= a(m (p1 ,zP 2,z) )/dz. (I.2)
Proof. By Lemma 1.1, the left member of Eq. (I.2)
equals
{E([ n (p,,Z1,p2,z 2) )/az1]
+ E[(n (P
(,Z 1 ,p2,z2) )/z 2 ]} Zl-
By the chain rule for derivatives, the right member of
Eq. (I.2) equals
[a(1m(plxzp2,z2) )/aZ]z2=,
+ [a (m (P2 ,Z1 ,P2,Z))/az] 1 ,z,
which equals the result obtained above for the left mem-
ber of Eq. (I.2). (Q.E.D.)
2
2
APPENDIX II
The purpose of this appendix is the proof of the fol-
lowing theorem.
42M. Loeve, Probability Theory (D. Van Nostrand Company,
Inc., New York, 1960), p. 470.
43M. Loeve, Ref. 42, p. 471.
January1964 IMAGE TRANSMISSION THROUGH TURBULENT MEDIA 61

Theorem II. Given Assumptions 1, 2, 3 of Appendix I, by proving that the equation

then
(9/&z) (A (plz)A ' (P2,z) )= (ik[N (p1 ,z)-N (P2,z)]
(A*(p 2 ,z)VI 2 A (pI,z))= (A (p1,z)V 22A*(p2,z)).
X A (plz)A *(P2,z)), (III. 1)
Proof. The stated result follows from (the formalism)
which is equivalent to Eq. (4.4), is satisfied by
(A *(p2,Z)V12A (pz)) a(PI,Z)a*(p 2,Z), with a(p,z) defined by

{ikf
2
= V (m(pl,z,p2,z))

= V12 (m(pl-p2,z,O,z)) a (p,z) = exp N (pz')dz'| (111.2)

2
= V2 (m(Pl-P2,z,O,Z))
2
= V2 (m (p 1 ,z,p 2 ,z) ) In writing Eq. (4.6), one must add the following
2 physically realistic assumptions to the three stated in
= (A (pl,z)V2 A*(p2,Z)),
Appendix I:
in which Lemma I.1 justifies Steps 1 and 5, Assumption 4. N(p,z) is integrable with respect to z, for all p and
3(b) justifies Steps 2 and 4, and Step 3 follows from the z.
fact that V12 and V22 are even operators which are As a consequence of Assumption 4, Assumption 1 (a)
applied to the function (m) of the argument PI -P2- now holds with (t replacing A. By Eq. (III.2), a satis-
(Q.E.D.) fies Assumption 2. Assumption 3 (a) is justified for a on
APPENDIX III the same grounds as for A. Reference to the proofs of
Lemmas I.1 and I.2 in Appendix I shows that they are
The purpose of this appendix is to prove (rather than applicable for at with respect to the steps in
verify formally) that
(a/az) (a (P1,Z) * (p2,Z) )
Kexp ikf [EN(pI,z')-N(p 2 ,z')]dz' } = ( [(/dazI) + (a/az2 )] aI
(Pz) a* (p2,z2) )
= (ik[N (pz)- N (P2,Z)]aa (PZ)a* (p2,Z))- (III.3)
is a solution of Eq. (4.4). This purpose is accomplished Obviously, a also satisfies the condition a (p,O) = 1.