Techniques for retrieving column water vapor from Sun radiometer measurements involving the 940-nm water vapor absorption band have been around for the better part of a century. Arguably, the best method to use for this retrieval is the modified Langley technique. However, to apply this method one must obtain the instrument response at the top of the atmosphere using modified Langley plots on clear days with a very stable water vapor column. Using subsequent measurements in this filter, ratioed to the top-of-the-atmosphere response allows one to determine the transmission in the 940-nm water band. In this paper, we present an approach that does not require an absolute knowledge of the extraterrestrial instrument response. The method discussed here relies, instead, on relative measurements of a calibration lamp and the extraterrestrial spectral irradiance within and just outside the 940-nm absorption band. We execute these retrievals for the rotating shadowband spectroradiometer (RSS) on 3 days during the Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program's 1997 Water Vapor Intensive Observation Period. We compare the results to those retrieved from a colocated multifilter rotating shadowband radiometer (MFRSR) that uses an empirical calibration and from a colocated microwave radiometer. Since our optical method of retrieving column water vapor from RSS measurements does not depend on a calibration performed against another water vapor measurement, it contributes an independent estimate in the search for absolute accuracy. The major contributors to the uncertainty of this retrieval are the water vapor band strength calculations, the difference in aerosol extinction in and near the water vapor band, the relative spectral irradiance output of the calibration lamp and the Sun at the nonabsorbing and band-centered wavelengths, and the stability of the spectral response of the instrument, which will be discussed in detail. ¿ 2001 American Geophysical Union