Measurements of transmission in the visible and the IR in the Baltic coastal environment

A multinational campaign was organized by the NATO SET56 Group to assess transmission in coastal environments: the VAlidation Measurements of Propagation in IR and RAdar (VAMPIRA) experiment. VAMPIRA was conducted in the Baltic Sea, near Surendorf, Germany, from 27 March to 4 April 2004. During VAMPIRA, transmission was measured in the IR and the visible using a diversity of techniques. Transmissometers were installed across Eckernfoerde Bay, while aerosol measurements were made on the pier using Particle Measurement Systems (PMS), and visibilitymeters were deployed onshore and on a boat. Furthermore, VAMPIRA included point-target tracking experiments using blackbodies mounted on a boat. Some VAMPIRA measurements have already been presented at various symposiums. The purpose of this paper is to compare VAMPIRA transmission measurements and make comparisons with transmission estimates that can be deduced from the blackbody tracking sessions.