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

一种新的无线电掩星仪器系统，主动温度臭氧和湿度微波光谱仪（ATOMMS）将被建造并部署在飞机对飞机的掩星演示中。它将遥感大气湿度、臭氧、温度和压力，具有前所未有的功能和准确性，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，采用一种简单而灵活的设计，这种设计是经过几年的研究开发出来的。该系统由发射器和接收器组成，将在飞机对飞机掩星几何结构中主动探测22和183 GHz水线和195 GHz臭氧线，并使用一系列可调单色色调。在22千兆赫水线附近有足够的音调来分离水、液体和蒸汽相的影响。该系统配备了30厘米的折射天线，在探测穿透水云到达地表的相对高的光学深度时，将提供精确测量所需的高信噪比。在硬件开发的同时，我们将构建从ATOMMS掩星测量数据中获取大气剖面所需的检索软件的初始版本。一旦建成并进行测试，在第三年期间，两套ATOMMS发射器和接收器将集成到两架NASA WB57F飞机鼻锥上现有的平衡光学平台中。在NASA对飞机操作的支持下，第一组ATOMMS掩星测量将在飞机之间进行。这些操作将包括飞越俄克拉何马州南部大平原的大气辐射测量站点，并与NASA的A-train卫星和COSMIC全球定位系统无线电掩星任务的立交桥协调。将对获得的数据进行分析，将ATOMMS 22和183 GHz水线获得的水垂直剖面与地面和轨道探测系统获得的剖面进行比较。ATOMMS为全球测量气候研究的关键大气参数提供了独特和前所未有的能力。这些飞机对飞机的掩星提供了一种具有成本效益的方式来演示和评估ATOMMS概念及其性能，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任务铺平道路。

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.