This study specifically analyzes the average axial intensity characteristics of Laguerre-Whittaker-Gaussian beams (LWGBs) propagating through a maritime turbulent atmosphere. Using the Rytov approximation and the extended Huygens–Fresnel integral formulation, we derive a closed form analytical expression for the average axial intensity. Numerical simulations are performed to investigate how the axial intensity evolution is influenced by the beam source parameters and the refractive-index structure constant \(C_{n}^{2}\) of the marine atmosphere. It is shown that during propagating, the average axial intensity of the LWGBs reaches a threshold value at certain propagation distance \(z_{\max }\) ; and after that, it decreases gradually and vanishes for large values of z. Furthermore, our analysis shows that the ability of LWGBs to remain stable in the face of turbulence-induced degradation depends strongly on their initial characteristics. Specifically, increasing the beam waist, wavelength, the beam order \(\nu\) , and azimuthal index s, as well as decreasing the radial index n and \(C_{n}^{2}\) , reduces the effects of maritime turbulence on the propagation of the LWGBs. These findings provide essential guidelines for optimizing beam parameters in the design of robust maritime free-space optical communication and remote sensing systems.
