43 research outputs found
The HITRAN 2012 Molecular Spectroscopic Database
This paper describes the status of the latest edition of the HITRAN molecular spectroscopic
compilation. The new edition is meant to replace the previous HITRAN edition of 2008 and its
updates during the intervening years. The HITRAN molecular absorption compilation is
comprised of six major components structured into folders that are freely accessible on the
internet. These folders consist of the traditional line-by-line spectroscopic parameters required
for high-resolution radiative-transfer codes, infrared absorption cross-sections for molecules not
yet amenable to representation in a line-by-line form, ultraviolet spectroscopic parameters,
aerosol indices of refraction, collision-induced absorption data, and general tables such as
partition sums that apply globally to the data. The new HITRAN is greatly extended in terms of
accuracy, spectral coverage, additional absorption phenomena, and validity. Molecules and
isotopologues have been added that address the issues of atmospheres beyond the Earth. Also
discussed is a new initiative that casts HITRAN into a relational database format that offers
many advantages over the long-standing sequential text-based structure that has existed since the
initial release of HITRAN in the early 1970s