A Study on Some Equipment and Environmental Parameters Affecting Airborne Remote Probing of Temperature and Pressure Profiles

摘要

The physical and mathematical basis of remotely probing temperature and pressure profiles from an aircraft using a microwave radiometer are presented. The results of the previous study of this problem in which its feasibility was determined are reviewed. Instrumental effects are considered and are shown to be less of a problem then was originally anticipated, with the possible exception of the problems induced by tuning uncertainties. The effect of season, latitude, and the underlying surface on the feasibility of remote probing are investigated using a simple linear inversion scheme. It is shown that seasonal and latitudinal effects do exist, but can be minimized. The effects of the underlying surface pose problems below 500 mb. A technique for determining the tropopause and the temperature conditions above it are described. In general, there are no environmental or equipment considerations that adversely affect our ability to remotely measure the temperature and pressure-height profile between the 100 and 500 mb level. (Author)