Abstract
The design of a three-channel solar radiometer used to determine total columnar atmospheric water-vapor amounts is presented. The main channel is located in the 0.94-μm water-vapor band, and two other channels are located in adjacent nonabsorption regions of the solar spectrum and are used to remove scattering effects from the main channel. Water-vapor transmittance is determined by means of a modified Langley approach, and these transmittances are converted to columnar water vapor by means of a band model developed at the University of Arizona. Several cases are presented in which columnar water-vapor amounts are determined through the use of the instrument and method described here. These results are compared with sounding-balloon results. Tests of the method indicate that columnar water vapor may be retrieved with an uncertainty of less than 10%.
© 1994 Optical Society of America
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