Absorption and emission in the 8-millimeter region by ozone in the upper atmosphere

Abstract

Abstract : The absorption of solar radiation and the emission from the atmosphere (effective sky temperature) were measured over the ranges of the millimeter region corresponding to rotational lines of ozone centered at 30,056 Mhz, 36,025 Mhz, and 37,830 Mhz. The measurements were made possible by the special development of a frequency-switching radiometer and a gain-compensation technique. The contributions of ozone to atmospheric absorption and emission are evaluated from the solution of the radiative transfer equation on the basis of a line-width function of temperature and pressure and the ARDC 1959 Standard Atmosphere; the contributions of the water vapor and the oxygen are determined from the theories of Barrett and Chung for H2O and Meeks for O2. The intensity of the 37,830-Mhz line calculated by Gora was verified in a laboratory study. The width of this line was also found to coincide with the value 2340 Mhz at standard atmospheric conditions as derived by Walshaw from the 9.6-micron ozone band. Both emission and absorption of the atmospheric ozone lines were detected, with the line strengths in reasonable agreement with the model calculation. (Author)