Error Correction of Water Vapor Radiometers for VLBI Observations in Deep-Space Networks

In this paper, we present the design and implementation tests of a water vapor radiometer (WVR) suitable for very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) observation. We describe the calibration method with an analysis of the sources of measurement errors. The experimental results show that the long-term measurement accuracy of the brightness temperature of the water vapor radiometer can reach 0.2 K under arbitrary ambient conditions by absolute calibration, receiver gain error calibration, and antenna feeder system temperature noise error calibration. Furthermore, we present a method for measurements of the calibration error of the oblique path measurement. This results in an oblique path wet delay measurement accuracy of the water vapor radiometer reaching 20 mm (within one month).

Machine learning methods for Precipitable Water Vapor estimation by radiometric data in millimetre wavelength

This work deals with the first try to calculate the amount of Precipitable Water Vapor (PWV) in atmosphere by using machine learning and AI methods. We use the detector voltages series measured by radiometric system “MIAP-2” as the initial data for machine learning. The radiometer MIAP-2 works by “atmospheric dip method” in 2mm and 3mm atmospheric transparency windows. We also have PWV data series collected by Water Vapor Radiometer and GNSS receiver for data validation. The best convergence results were demonstrated by the independent component analysis (ICA) method with coefficient of determination R2= 0.53 and artificial neural network method (ANN) with R2= 0.8. These methods allow to reduce the systematic errors due to direct PWV calculation from raw radiometric data avoiding unnecessary steps opacity calculation.

Long-term observation of midlatitude quasi 2-day waves by a water vapor radiometer

A mesospheric water vapor data set obtained by the middle atmospheric water vapor radiometer (MIAWARA) close to Bern, Switzerland (46.88∘ N, 7.46∘ E) during October 2010 to September 2017 is investigated to study the long-term evolution and variability of quasi 2-day waves (Q2DWs). We present a climatological overview and an insight on the dynamical behavior of these waves with the occurring spectrum of periods as seen from a midlatitude observation site. Such a large and nearly continuous measurement data set as ours is rare and of high scientific value. The core results of our investigation indicate that the activity of the Q2DW manifests in burst-like events and is higher during winter months (November–February) than during summer months (May–August) for the altitude region of the mesosphere (up to 0.02 hPa in winter and up to 0.05 hPa in summer) accessible for the instrument. Single Q2DW events reach at most about 0.8 ppm in the H2O amplitudes. Further, monthly mean Q2DW amplitude spectra are presented and reveal a high-frequency variability between different months. A large fraction of identified Q2DW events (20 %) develop periods between 38 and 40 h. Further, we show the temporal evolution of monthly mean Q2DW oscillations continuously for all months and separated for single months over 7 years. The analysis of autobicoherence spectra gives evidence that Q2DWs are sometimes phase coupled to diurnal oscillations to a high degree and to waves with a period close to 18 h.

Long-term observation of mid-latitude quasi 2-day waves by a water vapor radiometer

A mesospheric water vapor data set obtained by the middle atmospheric water vapor radiometer (MIAWARA) close to Bern, Switzerland (46.88° N, 7.46° E) during October 2010 to September 2017 is investigated to study the long-term evolution and variability of quasi 2-day waves (Q2DWs). We present a climatological overview and an insight on the dynamical behavior of these waves with the occurring spectrum of periods as seen from a mid-latitude observation site. Such a large and nearly continuous measurement data set as ours is rare and of high scientific value. The core results of our investigation include that the activity of the Q2DW manifests in burst-like events and is higher during winter months (November–February) than during summer months (May–August) for the altitude region of the mesosphere (up to 0.02 hPa in winter and up to 0.05 hPa in summer) that is accessible for the instrument. Single Q2DW events reach at most about 0.8 ppm in the H2O amplitudes. Further, monthly mean Q2DW amplitude spectra are presented and reveal a high frequency variability between different months. A large fraction of identified Q2DW events (20 %) develop periods between 38–40 h. Further, we show the temporal evolution of monthly mean Q2DW oscillations continuously for all months and separated for single months over 7 years. The analysis of autobicoherence spectra gives evidence that the Q2DW occasionally is to a high degree phase coupled to diurnal oscillations and to waves with a period close to 18 h.