Ground-based microwave thermal sounding of the atmosphere

We apply the tensor transfer equation/or downward radio emission in a weakly anisotropic medium and a generalized analysis of the generation conditions/or such radiation to develope a unified approach to the solution of the problem on reconstruction of the atmospheric temperature profile over a wide altitude range (from the oustasche layer to the mesosphere) using ground-based measurements of thermal radio emission. Radio emission in the oxygen spin-rotational band centered at the wavelength 5 mm was measured with radiometer equipment of various spectral resolutions. The capabilities of the remote sounding are illustrated by the results o/ t he temperature profile reconstruction in the oustasche layer and troposphere using the radiometric measurements of the atmospheric radio emission, as well as by the results of numerical simulations o/the radiometric experiment~or the upper layers o/the atmosphere. Trends in development of ground-based remote sounding of the temperature are discussed. © 1999 Kluwer Academic / Pl enum Publishers.