RADIO H-I AND IRAS STUDIES OF INTERSTELLAR MATERIAL IN THE FIELD OF M22

H I profiles are presented of the interstellar gas in the direction of the globular cluster M22, towards field stars for which optical absorption spectra are available and in other selected directions. These radio observations reveal the presence in H I of both low- and high-velocity gas components which we have identified previously from optical spectroscopy of background cluster stars. They also provide direct determinations of the column densities for the nearby, low-velocity gas which appears to be associated with the Riegel & Crutcher cold cloud and for the high-velocity gas, which probably has an origin in the Sagittarius arm. The structure of the gas towards the nearby star HD 174632 is discussed using the H I profiles and the absorption line spectra of Crawford. IRAS images of dust emission for a field centred near M22 are consistent with an origin associated with the low-velocity gas. The images also reveal filamentary structures which imply corresponding variations in the H I column density of up to some 20 per cent.