Patent ID: 8427649

Claim:
A method of remotely sensing a fluid medium, comprising: a. receiving scattered light from a portion of said fluid medium, wherein said scattered light is generated along a first beam of substantially monochromatic light projected into said fluid medium along a first axis, and the operation of receiving said scattered light is nominally along a second axis that is oriented in a different direction relative to said first axis; b. forming an image of said scattered light through an interferometer, wherein said image of said scattered light comprises a first plurality of fringes, and each fringe of said first plurality of fringes is associated with a different portion of said portion of said fluid medium at a different range; c. detecting at least a portion of said image of said first plurality of fringes of said scattered light so as to generate a corresponding plurality of detected signals; d. analyzing at least a first fringe of said first plurality of fringes embodied in said plurality of detected signals so as to determine at least one measure of said fluid medium within a first portion of said fluid medium at a first range; and e. analyzing at least a second fringe of said first plurality of fringes embodied in said plurality of detected signals so as to determine at least one measure of said fluid medium within at least a second portion of said fluid medium at least a second range, wherein said first portion of said fluid medium is different from said second portion of said fluid medium, and said first range is different from said second range.