An Evaluation of the Applicability of a Microwave Radiometer Under Different Weather Conditions at the Southern Edge of the Taklimakan Desert

As an important means to monitor atmospheric vertical temperature and humidity, the ground-based microwave radiometer has been widely used in environmental monitoring, climate prediction, and other fields, but its application in desert areas is particularly limited. At Minfeng Station on the southern edge of the Taklimakan Desert, Global Telecommunications System (GTS) detection technology was used to evaluate the microwave radiometer observations under different weather conditions and at different altitudes. The planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) was calculated using the potential temperature gradient method, and the planetary boundary layer results were calculated by analyzing dust and rainfall events. The results show that the determination coefficients (R2) of the overall observed temperature (T), specific humidity (q), and water vapor density (ρv) of the microwave radiometer are all above 0.8 under different weather conditions. When the relative humidity is 0–10%, the temperature is the best, and the R2 is 0.9819. When the relative humidity is 70–80%, the R2 of q and ρv is the best, and the R2 is 0.9630 and 0.9777, respectively. This is in good agreement with the temperature observed by the FY–4A satellite; the observation effect is the best in May, and its R2 is 0.9142. Under the conditions of clear sky, precipitation day, and dusty weather, the R2 of the atmospheric boundary layer height calculated by the microwave radiometer is greater than 0.7 compared to the GTS sounding calculation results. These results demonstrate the reliability of microwave radiometry in extremely arid environments, providing valuable insights for boundary layer studies in desert regions.