Our group has developed a 20 μm passive atmospheric water vapour monitor.
The Infrared Radiometer for Millimetre Astronomy (IRMA) has been commissioned and
deployed for site testing for the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) and the Giant Magellan
Telescope (GMT). Measuring precipitable water vapour (PWV) requires both a sophisticated
atmospheric model (BTRAM) and an instrument (IRMA). Atmospheric models
depend on atmospheric profiles. Most profiles are generic in nature, representing only a
latitude in some cases. Site-specific atmospheric profiles are required to accurately simulate
the atmosphere above any location on Earth. These profiles can be created from publicly
available archives of radiosonde data, that offer nearly global coverage. Having created
a site-specific profile and model, it is necessary to determine the PWV sensitivity to the
input parameter uncertainties used in the model. The instrument must also be properly
calibrated. In this thesis, I describe the radiometric calibration of the IRMA instrument,
and the creation and analysis of site-specific atmospheric models for use with the IRMA
instrument in its capacity as an atmospheric water vapour monitor for site testing. / xii, 135 leaves : ill. ; 28 cm. --
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:ALU.w.uleth.ca/dspace#10133/675 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Querel, Richard Robert, University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science |
| Contributors | Naylor, David |
| Publisher | Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Arts and Science, 2007, Arts and Science, Department of Physics |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Relation | Thesis (University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Arts and Science) |
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