A Review of Ground-Based Remote Sensing of Temperature and Moisture by Passive Microwave Radiometers

Remote sounding of atmospheric variables by groundbased microwave radiometers has proved to be useful for several applications. These radiometers are used to measure profiles or integrated values of temperature, water vapor, and cloud liquid. The information provided is useful in meteorology, astronomy, geodesy, communication, for correction of space observations, for atmospheric research, etc. It may be possible to combine ground-based radiometers, satellite-borne radiometers, and VHF radars to form a meteorological network which provides profiles of temperature, humidity, and wind continuously in time. This paper will review some of the developments in this area, describe basic principles and results of field experiments, including the recent ONSAM-experiment, and summarize two years' performance of the NOAA Profiler.