Assessing the relations between spectral sensitivity and integrated water vapor for NDSA processing applied to a radio link between two LEO satellites

The NDSA (Normalized Differential Spectral Attenuation) approach is based on the conversion of a spectral parameter (the spectral sensitivity S) derived from power measurements, into the total content of water vapor (IWV, Integrated Water Vapor) along the propagation path between the two LEO satellites, through pre-determined IWV-S relations. This paper shows how some problems concerning the relationships between IWV (Integrated Water Vapor) and S could be overcome. In fact, two basic problems affected the reliability of such empirical IWV-S relations found so far: the first was the fact that the accuracy of the radiosonde data used to derive them was not uniformly distributed in the northern and southern hemisphere; the second was the limited amount of radiosonde data available at the highest altitudes (above 10 km), and their scarce reliability. Furthermore, the problem of correcting for the presence of liquid water needed to be considered. Here we present the results of a global scale analysis of the IWV-S relations made utilizing the ECMWF global atmospheric model. S and IWV were simulated and computed at all altitudes from 0 to 20 km, obtaining IWV-S relations for 17, 19, 21, 179 and 182 GHz. Also, the correction of IWV estimates by the presence of liquid water is shown to be effective by using an additional frequency around 30 GHz.