EOS Validation Program

Institution: National Institute of Standards and Technology
                    Optical Technology Division
                    Gaithersburg, MD 20899-8441
Phone: (301) 975-3797
FAX: (301) 975-3797
E-mail: gerald.fraser@nist.gov

March 2003
Final Report, December 2003

We propose to provide new measurements of the water-vapor continuum absorption using long-pathlength FTIR spectroscopy, linear laser absorption spectroscopy, and laser cavity-ringdown spectroscopy in support of the AIRS, HIRDLS, and TES missions. The laser measurements will be undertaken in the 9 to 11 micron region using a tunable microwave-sideband carbon-dioxide-laser infrared source. These efforts will include detailed measurements of the density and temperature dependence of the continuum, and will build on our previously published work (Tobin et al., 1996). These same techniques will also be applied to the accurate measurements of halfwidths and pressure shifts and their temperature dependencies, with special emphasis given to the shapes of the far wings of the water vapor lines.