A microwave interferometric study of the sub-surface of the planet Mercury

Analyses were made of extensive data on atmospheric emission and the decorrelation of microwave signals by the atmosphere. The model calculations incorporated both depth and temperature dependences of the thermophysical parameters, with functional forms determined from terrestrial and earth-based lunar results, and, especially, an extensive study of the Apollo lunar results. In addition, the effect of surface roughness on the observed brightness temperatures was analyzed. Discussions are presented of how imposing the double cosine form on the observations affected the value of the derived mean disk brightness temperature, the significance of the thermal inertia and possible systematic difficulties in the investigation.