MEASUREMENT OF GLITTER-POINT VELOCITIES ON THE SEA-SURFACE USING CIRCULAR SCANNING WITH A COLLIMATED NARROW LASER-BEAM

A laser device (lidar) for remotely measuring the parameters of the gl itter-point motion on the sea surface has been developed. The system e mploys a He-Ne laser to provide the probe beam. Circular scanning was performed by means of a piezoelectrically controlled mirror that had a frequency of rotation of 2 kHz. The positions of glitter-point echo p ulses were compared with the reference signal of the mirror controller to trace the time evolution of the glitter-point coordinates on the c ircumference of the circular laser beam track. The measurements yielde d the velocity distribution of the glitter points. The results were ob tained under natural conditions and indicate an anisotropy of the glit ter-point motion that is related to the sea conditions and the wind di rection.