On the use of the radiometer formula for atmospheric attenuation measurements at GHz frequencies

Radiometry offers the possibility to measure slant-path attenuation through the radiometer formula. But lack of a clear method to obtain an accurate estimate of the effective medium temperature (T
_mr
) and limited experimental characterization has contributed to uncertainty it is use. This contribution examined the use of the radiometer formula with measurements of brightness temperature, attenuation, and therefore T
_mr
, for many attenuating rain events made with the Sun-switching method. Monte-Carlo simulations were used to calculate the radiometer response for scattering atmospheres including finite rain cells. Data and analysis showed that use of the clear air T
_mr
provided a satisfactory estimate of attenuation statistics to over 10 dB.