Remote detection and characterization of laser beams propagating in maritime atmospheres is discussed. A model for off-axis scattered laser light based on Mie scattering from maritime aerosols is presented and compared with angle and time-resolved measurements from a pulsed laser source. We demonstrate that the direction of the source can be determined from the angle-resolved intensity and that the beam direction can be determined from arrival times of the scattered signals if the position of the laser source is known.

Off-axis scattering of laser beams propagating in the atmosphere has been imaged by two separated cameras. We give a theoretical analysis and report experiments that show how these images can be used to reconstruct the position and orientation of the beam relative to the cameras. The information from a single image of the beam only determines the beam within a plane. However, the intersection of these planes of ambiguity using images from two cameras can determine the beam uniquely. When the two planes are nearly parallel, an independent method based on the relative radiance at each camera can be used to determine the beam direction.

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