Water vapor microwave continuum absorption: A comparison of measurements and models

Abstract

Measurements, made in different laboratories, of absorption by water vapor in microwave windows are compared with models for the water vapor continuum. A reanalysis of some of these measurements leads to the conclusion that the laboratory data are best represented by a combination of Liebe's [1987] millimeter‐wave propagation model (MPM) for the foreign‐broadened component of the water continuum and the 1993 version of MPM for the self‐broadened component. This combined model is validated by comparison with measurements of atmospheric microwave emission.