Abstract
We report on the analysis of experimental data collected at the United States
Naval Academy in the Summer and Fall of 2010. A low-power red He-Ne laser
source was used to generate a Gaussian beam. The beam was directed
horizontally above the ground and over the water for 400 m during daytime. The
transverse cross-section of the beam was projected on a white screen and
imaged using a ccd camera. The histogram of the fluctuating intensity at the
center of the beam was obtained from the sequence of photographs.
Comparison was made of the histogram and probability density functions of
fluctuating intensity based on two existing analytic models, Gamma-Gamma and
Gamma-Laguerre. Also the comparison of the beam statistics above the ground
and over the water was performed.
