Improvement of Underwater Visibility by Reduction of Backscatter with a Circular Polarization Technique

This report presents a brief resume of the underwater visibility problem and explains the circular polarization approach for improving contrast. Experimental apparatus was set up at the Morris Dam facility of the U.S. Naval Ordnance Test Station, Pasadena Annex, and tests were conducted both with and without polarization. Results show that use of the polarization technique increased the visibility range in turbid water by at least a factor of two.