2009/02/10 by N. Schneider, Schneider, Nicola, Urban, Joachim +2
Engineering · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Radio Wave Propagation Studies #Precipitation Measurement and Analysis #Soil Moisture and Remote Sensing
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.0902.1642
Existing and planned radiotelescopes working in the millimetre (mm) and\nsub-millimetre wavelengths range provide the possibility to be used for\natmospheric line observations. To scrutinize this potential, we outline the\ndifferences and similarities in technical equipment and observing techniques\nbetween ground-based aeronomy mm-wave radiometers and radiotelescopes.\nComprehensive tables summarizing the technical characteristics of existing and\nfuture (sub)-mm radiotelescopes are given. The advantages and disadvantages\nusing radiotelescopes for atmospheric line observations are discussed. In view\nof the importance of exploring the sub-mm and far-infrared wavelengths range\nfor astronomical observations and atmospheric sciences, we present model\ncalculations of the atmospheric transmission for selected telescope sites\n(DOME-C/Antarctica, ALMA/Chajnantor, JCMT and CSO on Mauna Kea/Hawaii,\nKOSMA/Swiss Alpes) for frequencies between 0 and 2000 GHz (150 micron) and\ntypical atmospheric conditions using the forward model MOLIERE (version~5). For\nthe DOME-C site, the transmission over a larger range of up to 10 THz (30\nmicron) is calculated in order to demonstrate the quality of an earth-bound\nsite for mid-IR observations. All results are available on a dedicated webpage\n(http://transmissioncurves.free.fr)\n