Ground-based radiometric measurements of slant-path attenuation in the V/W bands

Abstract

Ground-based radiometric techniques were applied to measure the slant-path attenuation cumulative distribution function to over 20 dB of attenuation and to less than 1% exceedance probability at the V and W band frequencies of 72.5 and 82.5 GHz. These are the first such measurements in these frequency bands. Brightness temperature measurements were collected at an elevation angle of 36° in Rome, NY, using a four-channel radiometer that included 23.8 and 31.4 GHz receivers. A model-based approach was used to invert brightness temperature to attenuation. An atmospheric model relevant to the geographic location and statistically representative of the attenuating conditions was developed for this purpose. The main assumption of the atmospheric model was that the sources of attenuation for exceedance probabilities of concern were dominated by stratiform rain. Monte Carlo solutions to the radiative transfer equation for the precipitating atmosphere were used to generate the attenuation retrieval algorithm. Sensitivity analysis showed that the attenuation retrieval algorithm was robust to uncertainties in the model parameters. Slant-path attenuation was also measured with the radiometer using the Sun as a source of radiation. Over 30 dB of attenuation dynamic range was possible with this technique. Sun-beacon measurements were used to test model predictions.