Open AccessA robust retrieval of water vapor column in dry Arctic conditions using the rotating shadowband spectroradiometer
Author(s) -
Kiedron P.,
Michalsky J.,
Schmid B.,
Slater D.,
Berndt J.,
Harrison L.,
Racette P.,
Westwater E.,
Han Y.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2000jd000130
Subject(s) - water vapor , radiometer , spectroradiometer , environmental science , remote sensing , moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer , arctic , microwave , water column , atmospheric sciences , radiative transfer , atmospheric radiative transfer codes , radiometry , meteorology , physics , optics , geology , satellite , reflectivity , oceanography , quantum mechanics , astronomy
A method to retrieve water vapor column using the 940‐nm water vapor absorption band in dry Arctic conditions is presented. The retrievals with this method are stable with respect to uncertainties in instrument radiometric calibration, air pressure, solar source function, and aerosols. The water vapor column was retrieved with this method using spectra obtained with the rotating shadowband spectroradiometer (RSS) that was deployed during an intensive observation period near Barrow, Alaska, in March 1999. A line‐by‐line radiative transfer model was used to compute water vapor transmittance. The retrievals with this method are compared with retrievals obtained from three independent measurements with microwave radiometers. All four measurements show the same pattern of temporal variations. The RSS results agree most closely with retrievals obtained with the millimeter‐wave imaging radiometer (MIR) at its 183 GHz±7 double‐side band channel. Their correlation over a period of 7 days when water vapor column varied between 0.75 mm and 3.6 mm (according to RSS) is 0.968 with MIR readings 0.12 mm higher on average.