REFIR/BB initial observations in the water vapour rotational band: results from a field campaign

There is a growing interest in the far infrared spectral region 17–50 mm as a remote sensing tool in atmospheric sciences,since this portion of the spectrum contains the characteristic molecular rotational band for water vapour. Much of the Earth energy lost to space is radiated through this spectral region. The Radiation Explorer in the Far InfraRed Breadboard (REFIR/BB) spectrometer was born because of the quest to make observations in the far infrared. REFIR/BB is a Fourier Transform Spectrometer with a sampling resolution of 0.5 cm-1 and it was tested for the first time in the field to check its reliability and radiometric performance. The field campaign was held at Toppo di Castelgrande (40° 49' N, 15° 27' E, 1258m a. s. l.), a mountain site in South Italy. The spectral and radiometric performance of the instrument and initial observations are shown in this paper. Comparisons to both (1) BOMEM MR100 Fourier Transform spectrometer observations and (2) line-by-line radiative transfer calculations for selected clear sky are presented and discussed. These comparisons (1) show a very nice agreement between radiance measured by REFIR/BB and by BOMEM MR100 and (2) demonstrate that REFIR/BB accurately observes the very fine spectral structure in the water vapour rotational band.