Toward a global microwave standard
Monday, February 6, 2012 - 07:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Much of what is known about decadal climate change and much of what appears on the evening weather forecast as well comes from satellite-based remote sensing of microwave radiation at different levels in the Earth's atmosphere. Microwave measurements are generally reported as the apparent temperature of the object being monitored. Yet, at present, there is no accepted brightness-temperature (radiance) standard for microwaves that can be used for authoritative calibration of microwave sensors, for resolving discrepancies between readings from different satellites, or for comparing one program's results with another's.