Effects of the Longitudinal Distribution of WRF-Based Optical Turbulence on Slant-Path Laser Propagation at Equal Path-Integrated Strength

Path-integrated turbulence strength J summarizes total optical turbulence but omits its longitudinal distribution, which can influence finite-aperture reception. We examined this influence for a 9.92 km slant-path uplink using 36 WRF-derived Cn2 profiles from three meteorological episodes. Multiple-phase-screen simulations first assessed how J ranked receiver responses across the original profiles. For each case, we then compared transmitter-side and receiver-side redistributions with the same J, link configuration, numerical settings, and matched random phase-screen coefficients. Across the original profiles, J strongly ranked four receiver metrics (Spearman’s ρs=0.97–0.98). Under the primary redistribution, moving turbulence toward the receiver increased the median captured-power fraction by 0.78 percentage points and reduced the median aperture-power scintillation index, beam wander, and spot-radius ratio by 94.6%, 38.7%, and 27.9%, respectively. The 94.6% reduction is relative to an already low absolute transmitter-side scintillation index in several cases. All four paired effects favored the receiver-side distribution in 36/36 cases, and their directions persisted in the tested parameter, independent-seed, and numerical checks. Equal J therefore did not ensure equivalent finite-aperture responses under the examined redistribution. The effect magnitudes remain conditional on the adopted turbulence parameterization and link configuration.