Water vapor continuum absorption in the 3.5-4.0-microm region.

Measurements of water vapor continuum absorption in the 3.5-4.0-microm region are presented. The measurements were made with both long-path absorption cell and spectrophone systems. A deuterium fluoride grating tunable laser was the ir source. Measurements were made at 23 degrees C and 65 degrees C with 14.3 Torr and 65 Torr of water vapor, respectively, buffered to 760-Torr total pressure by an 80/20 mixture of N(2)/O(2). Both natural water and a special sample of deuterium depleted water (one-fiftieth the normal concentration) were used. The 65 degrees C results agree with previous measurements by other workers. The 23 degrees C results indicate a continuum absorption at this temperature about a factor of 2 larger than expected based on the extrapolation scheme and high-temperature data (>/=65 degrees C) of others.