Wang, JR, Racette, P, Triesky, ME, Manning, W (2002). Retrievals of column water vapor using millimeter-wave radiometric measurements. IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON GEOSCIENCE AND REMOTE SENSING, 40(6), 1220-1229.

Abstract
The airborne millimeter-wave imaging radiometer (MIR) measurements conducted over the midwest region of the continental United States during January/February 1997 and over the Alaska-Arctic region during May 1998 are used to estimate column water vapor W < 0.8 g/cm(2) under a clear sky. On board the same aircraft are two other instruments, the cloud lidar system (CLS) and MODerate-resolution imaging spectrometer (MODIS) airborne simulator (MAS), which provide cloud cover information and independent measurements of W, respectively. The MIR-estimated W values are compared and found to be in very good agreement with those measured by rawinsondes at near concurrence. A close correlation is found between the MIR-estimated W and that estimated from the MAS near-IR reflectance ratios. Water surface emissivities at several MIR frequencies are obtained in the process of the W retrieval from several flights over the mid-west lakes. These estimated emissivities compared favorably with values calculated for a calm water surface, which are based on a recent dielectric permittivity model and MAS-measured surface temperatures. The results from all comparisons strongly demonstrate the soundness of the technique for estimating W.

DOI:
10.1109/TGRS.2002.800433

ISSN:
0196-2892