Light pulse propagation along the path atmosphere-rough-surface-sea water.

The influence of surface waves and multiple scattering in water on the parameters of light pulses from an airborne source is studied. The contributions of various mechanisms to variations in delay of pulse and its variance are estimated. It is shown that waves make the main contribution to these values at small depths. With strong wind, the allowance for waves is important for small receiving apertures in the whole practically important depth range. For large receiving apertures or/and large widths of light beams incident on the surface, the determining factor is multiple scattering of light in water.