Estimation of electrical path delay fluctuations in the atmosphere by microwave radiometry

For the solution of tasks related to radiowave propagation through the atmosphere, it is necessary frequently to know not only average phase delay, but also its fluctuation component. Spatial temporal variations of phase delay of millimeter waves in the troposphere depend on meteorological conditions and create significant restrictions on work of large antennas, long base interferometer systems, space communication etc. In this paper the influence of short time (with a period less than 10 minutes) variations of water vapor and liquid water in clouds on phase delay is considered. The estimations of variations of phase delay are obtained by means of microwave radiometric measurements of the atmosphere