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Pure water vapor continuum measurements between 3100 and 4400 cm −1 : Evidence for water dimer absorption in near atmospheric conditions
Author(s) -
Paynter D. J.,
Ptashnik I. V.,
Shine K. P.,
Smith K. M.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2007gl029259
Subject(s) - water vapor , water dimer , dimer , absorption (acoustics) , materials science , analytical chemistry (journal) , atmospheric sciences , atomic physics , environmental science , physics , chemistry , meteorology , optics , environmental chemistry , nuclear magnetic resonance , molecule , hydrogen bond , quantum mechanics
Despite the potentially important role that water dimers may play in the Earth's energy balance, there is still a lack of firm evidence for absorption of radiation by dimers in near‐atmospheric conditions. We present results of the first high‐resolution laboratory measurements of the water vapor continuum absorption within the 3100–4400 cm −1 spectral region at a range of near‐room temperatures. The analysis indicates a large contribution of dimer absorption to the water vapor continuum, significantly in excess of that predicted by other modern representations of the continuum. The temperature dependence agrees well with that expected for dimers.