Abstract
The polarization properties of deterministic or random light with isotropic source correlations propagating in anisotropic turbulence along horizontal paths are considered for the first time and predicted to change on the basis of the second-order coherence theory of beam-like fields and the extended Huygens-Fresnel integral. Our examples illustrate that the beams whose degree of polarization is unaffected by free-space propagation or isotropic turbulence can either decrease or increase on traversing the anisotropic turbulence, depending on the polarization state of the source.