[mmaimcal] location of terahertz array

[Simon Radford]

Should nearby mountain tops be condsidered for the location of a
teraherz/super-terahertz array?

Radiosonde profiles show the bulk of the water vapor is trapped below an
inversion layer fairly close to the ground at least some of the time (e.
g., flight 85, 1999 November 7 UT 4). Putting a high frequency array
400-700 m higher, i. e., on Cordon Honar (5400 m), Cerro Chascon (5650
m), or Cerro Sairecabur (5750 m), would lift it above the inversion
layer and dramatically improve the observing conditions. This is not a
novel idea -- it was suggested at the Cornell workshop last week, among
other places -- but it should be considered seriously and carefully. 

At the very least, we should determine from the existing radiosonde data
the expected improvement in observing time. And more radiosonde launches
certainly would help.
  
Simon