Where is Ridge A?

Geoff Sims; Craig Kulesa; Michael C.B. Ashley; Jon S. Lawrence; Will Saunders; John W.V. Storey

doi:10.1117/12.925512

Where is Ridge A?

Geoff Sims, Craig Kulesa, Michael C.B. Ashley, Jon S. Lawrence, Will Saunders, John W.V. Storey

Steward Observatory

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Conference contribution

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

First identified in 2009 as the site with the lowest precipitable water and best terahertz transmission on Earth, Ridge A is located approximately 150 km south of Dome A, Antarctica. To further refine this optimum location prior to deployment in 2012 of a robotic THz observatory, we have modelled the atmospheric transmission as a function of location over a 1,000,000 km square grid using three years of data from the Microwave Humidity Sounder on the NOAA-18 satellite. The modelling identifies a broad area of exceptionally low water vapour close to the 4,000 metre elevation contour, reaching below 100 microns for extended periods of time.

Original language	English (US)
Title of host publication	Ground-Based and Airborne Telescopes IV
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1117/12.925512
State	Published - 2012
Event	Ground-Based and Airborne Telescopes IV - Amsterdam, Netherlands Duration: Jul 1 2012 → Jul 6 2012

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
Volume	8444
ISSN (Print)	0277-786X

Other

Other	Ground-Based and Airborne Telescopes IV
Country/Territory	Netherlands
City	Amsterdam
Period	7/1/12 → 7/6/12

Keywords

Antarctic astronomy
Precipitable water vapour
Ridge A
Site testing
Terahertz spectroscopy

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials
Condensed Matter Physics
Computer Science Applications
Applied Mathematics
Electrical and Electronic Engineering

Access to Document

10.1117/12.925512

Cite this

@inproceedings{8068f82c5e684faf9461e144a4dc8806,

title = "Where is Ridge A?",

abstract = "First identified in 2009 as the site with the lowest precipitable water and best terahertz transmission on Earth, Ridge A is located approximately 150 km south of Dome A, Antarctica. To further refine this optimum location prior to deployment in 2012 of a robotic THz observatory, we have modelled the atmospheric transmission as a function of location over a 1,000,000 km square grid using three years of data from the Microwave Humidity Sounder on the NOAA-18 satellite. The modelling identifies a broad area of exceptionally low water vapour close to the 4,000 metre elevation contour, reaching below 100 microns for extended periods of time.",

keywords = "Antarctic astronomy, Precipitable water vapour, Ridge A, Site testing, Terahertz spectroscopy",

author = "Geoff Sims and Craig Kulesa and Ashley, {Michael C.B.} and Lawrence, {Jon S.} and Will Saunders and Storey, {John W.V.}",

year = "2012",

doi = "10.1117/12.925512",

language = "English (US)",

isbn = "9780819491459",

series = "Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering",

booktitle = "Ground-Based and Airborne Telescopes IV",

note = "Ground-Based and Airborne Telescopes IV ; Conference date: 01-07-2012 Through 06-07-2012",