Although scarcely 20 years have passed since the creation of the first
laser, laser engineering has enjoyed a variety of applications in
science and in practice. Among these applications, a special pI ace is
held by those related to the propagation of laser radiation in the
atmosphere. Some, such as laser communication and
information-transmission systems, locating and teleme- tering systems,
and mapping and navigation systems, require access to quantitative data
on the effects of the atmosphere on the parameters of the laser beam
serving as the carrier of useful information, since the efficacy of any
such system depends significantly on the influence of the atmosphere.
Another set of laser applications associated with the propagation of
coherent radiation in the atmosphere requires the solution of both
direct and inverse problems related to this complex subject. The kind of
applica- tion in question is the use of lasers for long-range monitoring
of various physical parameters of the atmosphere-a new and highly
promising direc- tion in science and engineering.
