Infrared and Sub millimetre Observing Conditions on the Antarctic Plateau Publications of the Astronomical Society of Australia

The Antarctic plateau provides the best terrestrial sites for infrared and sub millimetre astronomy In this paper we examine the relative importance of temperature aerosol content and precipitable water vapour to determine which parameters have the greatest in uence on atmospheric transmission and sky brightness We use the atmospheric modelling program MODTRAN to model the observed sky spectrum at the South Pole from the near IR to the sub millimetre We nd that temperature and aerosol content determine the quality of near IR observing conditions aerosol content is the determining factor in the mid IR up to m while at longer wavelengths including the sub millimetre it is the water vapour content that matters Finding a location where aerosol levels are minimised is a key constraint in determining the optimum site on the Antarctic plateau for an infrared observatory