Instrumentation for measurement of atmospheric radiation

Abstract

Radiation associated with earth’s atmospheric phenomena presents a variety of problems that can be investigated with the technique of radioactive transfer. A wide range of both active and passive techniques have been developed for in situ and remote sensing of the atmosphere. A significant fraction of electromagnetic spectrum ranging from ultraviolet to low-frequency radio waves is utilized, which means that many important parameters of the neutral and ionized atmosphere can be studied. The ability of many ground-based techniques to provide almost continuous monitoring of the state of the atmosphere, often with excellent time and height resolution, shows their importance in the atmospheric research programmes. A variety of instruments have been developed which focus on different principles of optical probing of the upper atmosphere. Some details are given of the grating spectroscopic systems, interference filter photometers, and Fabry-Perot and wide-angle Michelson interferometers. Finally, application of modern imaging technology is briefly described.