Three-dimensional menisci formed by small particles floating at a water-air interface are studied by holographic interferometry. Contour lines of the interface shape are obtained from holographic fringe patterns. Experimental results agree well with predictions from the approximative solution of the Young-Laplace equation. Nonaxisymmetric deformations are decomposed into their angular harmonics to explain characteristic features of the observed menisci. The interaction of particles on a water surface is studied by a holographic real-time method that is applied to the meniscus configuration associated with the attractive motion of two particles.
