MRI: Development of the Active Temperature Ozone and Moisture Microwave Spectrometer (ATOMMS) cm and mm-wave Occultation Instrument

将建造一个新的无线电掩星仪器系统，即主动温度臭氧和湿度微波分光仪，并将其部署在飞机对飞机掩星演示中。 它将以前所未有的功能和准确性组合远程感知大气湿度，臭氧，温度和压力，为了解大气行为打开了一扇新的窗口。 该系统将在两年内建成，采用经过多年研究开发的简单灵活的设计。 该系统由发射器和接收器组成，将在飞机对飞机的掩星几何学中利用一系列可调单色音调主动探测22和183 GHz水线和195 GHz臭氧线。 在22 GHz水线附近有足够的音调来分离水液相和汽相的影响。凭借其30厘米的折射天线，该系统将提供精确测量所需的非常高的信噪比，同时通过水云探测相对较高的光学深度。 在硬件开发的同时，我们将建立从ATOMMS掩星测量获得大气剖面所需的反演软件的初始版本。 一旦建成和测试，在第三年，2套ATOMMS发射器和接收器将被集成到现有的万向节光学工作台在两个美国宇航局WB57F飞机的鼻镜。 在NASA对飞机运行的支持下，第一组ATOMMS掩星测量将在飞机之间进行。 这些行动将涉及飞越俄克拉荷马州的大气辐射测量南部大平原站点，并与美国宇航局的A列车卫星和宇宙全球定位系统无线电掩星使命的立交桥协调。将对所获得的数据进行分析，将从ATOMMS 22和183 GHz水线获得的水垂直剖面图与地面和轨道探测系统获得的剖面图进行比较。 ATOMMS提供了一个独特的和前所未有的能力，在全球范围内测量关键的大气参数的基本气候研究。 这些飞机对飞机的掩星为演示和评估ATOMMS概念及其性能提供了一种具有成本效益的方法，而无需将至少一个（如果不是两个）仪器放置在轨道上的非常昂贵的步骤。成功的飞机演示将为未来的轨道使命铺平道路。

A new radio occultation instrument system, the Active Temperature Ozone and Moisture Microwave Spectrometer (ATOMMS) will be built and deployed in an aircraft-to-aircraft occultation demonstration. It will remotely sense atmospheric moisture, ozone, temperature and pressure with an unprecedented combination of features and accuracy, opening a new window into understanding atmospheric behavior. The system will be built in two years using a simple and flexible design that has been developed over several years of previous research. The system consists of transmitters and receivers that will probe the 22 and 183 GHz water lines and 195 GHz ozone line actively with a series of tunable monochromatic tones in an aircraft-to-aircraft occultation geometry. There are sufficient tones near the 22 GHz water line to separate the effects of water liquid and vapor phases. With its 30 cm refractive antenna, the system will provide the very high signal-to-noise ratios needed for precise measurements while probing relatively high optical depths down to the surface through water clouds. Simultaneous with the hardware development, we will build the initial version of the retrieval software needed to derive atmospheric profiles from the ATOMMS occultation measurements. Once built and tested, during the third year the 2 sets of ATOMMS transmitters and receivers will be integrated into the existing gimbaled optical benches in the nosecones of the two NASA WB57F aircraft. With NASA support for aircraft operations, the first set of ATOMMS occultation measurements will be conducted between the aircraft. These operations will involve flying over the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Southern Great Plains site in Oklahoma, and coordinating with overpasses by NASA's A-train satellites and the COSMIC Global Positioning System radio occultation mission. The data acquired will be analyzed, comparing the water vertical profiles derived from the ATOMMS 22 and 183 GHz water lines to profiles obtained with surface-based and orbital sounding systems. ATOMMS offers a unique and unprecedented capability for globally measuring key atmospheric parameters fundamental to climate studies. These aircraft-to-aircraft occultations offer a cost-effective way to demonstrate and assess the ATOMMS concept and its performance without the very costly step of placing at least one if not both of the instruments in orbit. Successful aircraft demonstrations will pave the way for a future orbital mission.