ACCURATE FREQUENCY MEASUREMENTS FOR H2O AND O-16(3) IN THE 119-CM(-1)OH ATMOSPHERIC WINDOW

We report frequency measurements for relatively weak H2O and O-16(3) r otational transitions in the ground state and in the v(2) = 1 vibratio nally excited state. We obtained the frequency measurements by using t he laboratory technique of tunable far-infrared spectroscopy with the objective of improving H2O and O-3 line parameters required for modeli ng the important atmospheric spectral window near 119 cm(-1). New sets of molecular constants are calculated from the O-16(3) data, and impr oved values are reported for the frequencies of the H2O lines. The imp rovement in atmospheric simulations obtained with the new results is i llustrated by comparison with recent high-resolution balloon-based atm ospheric measurements. These new data significantly improve simulation s of high-resolution atmospheric emission spectra. (C) 1997 Optical So ciety of America.