THz propagation research within the TERASENSE project: Atmospheric gases attenuation

In this paper, the fundamentals of the estimation of gaseous absorption at frequencies between 0.1 and 1 THz are discussed, according to the commonly used ITU-R Rec. P. 676-8 model, based on the MPM (mm-wave propagation model). Preliminary results of theoretical calculations of THz atmospheric gaseous absorption, using radiosounding data, are exposed, as well as its variation with both height and water vapor content. On the other side, with the aim of deploying experimental radiometric instruments at 100 GHz and 300 GHz and measuring sky brightness temperature, some preliminary calculations of the expected values of antenna noise are discussed.