Interpretation of radiometric measurements of sky-noise in terms of path attenuation

The authors discuss selection of appropriate medium temperatures for a tropical climate with the help of radiometric measurements made simultaneously at three different frequencies along the same path. Radiometric measurements of sky noise at 11.6, 19.5 and 28.5 GHz were made over an 18 months period in the Amazon basin of Peru, where there is a high incidence of tropical heavy rain. Interpretation of the measurements is attempted in terms of radiative transfer through rain cells in the form of finite cylinders. The results will have application to the conversion of radiometric data to attenuation along any path, but particularly those subjected to intense rain events