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The Laboratory Complex for the Calibration of Photometers Using the Optical Method for Determination of the Water Vapor Content in the Earth Atmosphere

We describe the laboratory complex for the calibration of photometers that are used in weather service to measure the water vapor content in the Earth atmosphere. The complex was built up in Pulkovo Observatory and developed within the framework of collaboration between Pulkovo Observatory and Lindenberg Meteorological Observatory (Meteorologisches Observatorium Lindenberg - Richard-Aßmann-Observatorium, Lindenberg, Germany). It is used to obtain calibration dependences for individual devices, and also to develop and compare various methods of construction of calibration dependences. These techniques are based on direct calibration of the photometers, on the use of spectral laboratory transmission functions for water vapor, on calculation methods using spectroscopical databases for individual lines. We hope that when the parameters of the equipment are taken into account in detail and new results for the absorptive power of water vapor are used, the accuracy of determination of the water vapor content in the atmosphere of 1-2% may be attained.