FTS Measurements of Submillimeter-Wave Atmospheric Opacity at Pampa la Bola III. Water Vapor, Liquid Water, and 183 GHz Water Vapor Line Opacities

Further analysis has been made on the millimeter and submillimeter-wave (100–1600 GHz or 3 mm – 188 μm) atmospheric opacity data taken with the Fourier Transform Spectrometer (FTS) at Pampa la Bola, 4800 m above sea level in northern Chile, which is the site of the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA). Time-sequence plots of millimeter and submillimeter-wave opacities show similar variations to each other, except for during the periods with liquid water (fog or clouds) in the atmosphere. Using millimeter and submillimeter-wave opacity correlations under two conditions, which are affected and not affected by liquid water, we succeeded to separate the measured opacity into water vapor and liquid water opacity components. The water vapor opacity shows good correlation with the 183 GHz water vapor line opacity, which is also covered in the measured spectra. On the other hand, the liquid water opacity and the 183 GHz line opacity show no correlation. Since only the water vapor component is expected to affect the phase of interferometers significantly, and the submillimeter-wave opacity is less affected by the liquid water component, it may be possible to use the submillimeter-wave opacity for a phase-correction of submillimeter interferometers.