Uwe Feister

SPECTRAL ALBEDO MEASUREMENTS IN THE UV and VISIBLE REGION OVER DIFFERENT TYPES OF SURFACES

Abstract— The spectral albedo of the earths surface, i.e. the ratio between spectral irradiance reflected by the ground to all directions and global irradiance, was measured by a spectroradiometer in the UV and visible region from 290 nm to 800 nm with a spectral resolution of 1.5 nm at steps of 2 nm in the UV (290–400 nm) and 10 nm in the visible (400–800 nm) region. The measurements were performed over bare fertile soil, sand at the beach, concrete (autobahn) and snow as well as over different types of vegetation (grass, oats, rye, sugar‐beet, stubble). As the albedo increases with increasing wavelengths for most types of surfaces considered, it is smaller in the UV than in the visible region. In the UVB region (λ < 315 nm) the measured albedo is as small as 0.016‐0.017 over vegetation, 0.04‐0.05 over bare fertile soil, 0.07‐0.10 over concrete (“autobahn”) and 0.62‐0.76% over polluted snow with a small wavelength dependence. A somewhat higher albedo occurs in the UVA region (315 < λ < 400 nm) with values ranging from 0.02 over vegetation to 0.05 to 0.08 over bare soil. The albedo over dry bright sand, which is typically found at the beach, is significantly higher (0.14 at 300 nm to 0.24 at 400 nm) than over other snow‐free surfaces, thus leading to an enhanced dose of biologically effective radiation at the beach.

A method for correction of cosine errors in measurements of spectral UV irradiance

Abstract One of the sources contributing to the overall uncertainty of spectral UV radiation measurements is the cosine error of the spectroradiometer. It leads to measurement errors that depend on atmospheric conditions and on solar zenith angle, and thus time of the day and season. Though the foreoptics of modern instruments are designed such as to minimize cosine errors, there remain deviations from the ideal cosine response. We have worked out a method to further reduce that remaining cosine error in global spectral irradiance. This method was applied to spectra of global UV radiation taken with a Brewer spectroradiometer. The only additional input data needed to apply the method of cosine correction to spectral irradiance data are concurrent broad-band UV-B radiation measurements of diffuse and global radiation recorded with filter UV instruments, which are used to estimate the optical thickness referred to global UV radiation for the time when the spectral scan is taken. The method takes account of the variable conditions of cloudiness and turbidity. In the case of measurements taken with Brewer instrument No. 30, the cosine corrected global UV-B radiation was higher than the measured irradiance by 9–20%, and even its daily totals turned out to be higher than the uncorrected radiation by 13–18%. An estimate of the uncertainty of ±4 to ±8% was derived from a theoretical approach as well as from model calculations using a radiative transfer model.

Solar UV radiation measurements at potsdam (52°22′N, 13°5′E)

Abstract The UV instruments described in part I of this paper have been applied for measurements of solar global UV radiation in three different wavelength regions (310–320 nm, 315–391 nm, and 296–388 nm). UV radiation values obtained since 1985 are analyzed. Different types of regression equations were compared as to how much information on UV radiation is contained in total global radiation measurements (400–2800 nm). Applying those regression equations allows us to estimate UV radiation from measurements of total global radiation, which are readily available.

Survival of Microorganisms under the Extreme Conditions of the Atacama Desert

Spores of Bacillus subtilis, conidia of Aspergillus niger, versicolor and ochraceus andcells of Deinococcus radiodurans have been exposed in the dark at two locations (at about 23°S and 24°S) in the Atacama Desert for up to 15 months. B. subtilis spores (survival ∼15%) and A. niger conidia (survival ∼30%) outlived the other species. The survival of the conidiaand spores species was only slightly poorer than that of thecorresponding laboratory controls. However, the Deinococcus radiodurans cells did not survive the desertexposure, because they are readily inactivated at relativehumidities between 40 and 80% which typically occurduring desert nights. Cellular monolayers of the dry sporesand conidia have in addition been exposed to the full sunlight for up to several hours. The solar fluences causing 63% loss in viability (F37-values) have been determined.These F37-values are compared with those determined atother global locations such as Punta Arenas (53°S), Key Largo (25°N) or Mainz (50°N) during the same season. Thesolar UVB radiation kills even the most resistantmicroorganisms within a few hours due to DNA damages. Thedata are also discussed with respect to possible similaritiesbetween the climatic conditions of the recent Atacama Desertand the deserts of early Mars.

Modelling solar UV radiation in the past: comparison of algorithms and input data

The objectives of the COST action 726 are to establish long-term changes of UV-radiation in the past, which can only be derived by modelling with good and available proxy data. To find the best available models and input data, 16 models have been tested by modelling daily doses for two years of data measured at four stations distributed over Europe. The modelled data have been compared with the measured data, using different statistical methods. Models that use Cloud Modification Factors for the UV spectral range, derived from co-located measured global irradiance, give the best results.

Parameterization of daily solar global ultraviolet irradiation.

Abstract Daily values of solar global ultraviolet (UV) B and UVA irradiation as well as erythemal irradiation have been parameterized to be estimated from pyranometer measurements of daily global and diffuse irradiation as well as from atmospheric column ozone. Data recorded at the Meteorological Observatory Potsdam (52°N, 107 m asl) in Germany over the time period 1997–2000 have been used to derive sets of regression coefficients. The validation of the method against independent data sets of measured UV irradiation shows that the parameterization provides a gain of information for UVB, UVA and erythemal irradiation referring to their averages. A comparison between parameterized daily UV irradiation and independent values of UV irradiation measured at a mountain station in southern Germany (Meteorological Observatory Hohenpeissenberg at 48°N, 977 m asl) indicates that the parameterization also holds even under completely different climatic conditions. On a long-term average (1953–2000), parameterized annual UV irradiation values are 15% and 21% higher for UVA and UVB, respectively, at Hohenpeissenberg than they are at Potsdam. Daily global and diffuse irradiation measured at 28 weather stations of the Deutscher Wetterdienst German Radiation Network and grid values of column ozone from the EPTOMS satellite experiment served as inputs to calculate the estimates of the spatial distribution of daily and annual values of UV irradiation across Germany. Using daily values of global and diffuse irradiation recorded at Potsdam since 1937 as well as atmospheric column ozone measured since 1964 at the same site, estimates of daily and annual UV irradiation have been derived for this site over the period from 1937 through 2000, which include the effects of changes in cloudiness, in aerosols and, at least for the period of ozone measurements from 1964 to 2000, in atmospheric ozone. It is shown that the extremely low ozone values observed mainly after the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991 have substantially enhanced UVB irradiation in the first half of the 1990s. According to the measurements and calculations, the nonlinear long-term changes observed between 1968 and 2000 amount to +4%, …, +5% for annual global irradiation and UVA irradiation mainly because of changing cloudiness and +14%, …, +15% for UVB and erythemal irradiation because of both changing cloudiness and decreasing column ozone. At the mountain site, Hohenpeissenberg, measured global irradiation and parameterized UVA irradiation decreased during the same time period by −3%, …, −4%, probably because of the enhanced occurrence and increasing optical thickness of clouds, whereas UVB and erythemal irradiation derived by the parameterization have increased by +3%, …, +4% because of the combined effect of clouds and decreasing ozone. The parameterizations described here should be applicable to other regions with similar atmospheric and geographic conditions, whereas for regions with significantly different climatic conditions, such as high mountainous areas and arctic or tropical regions, the representativeness of the regression coefficients would have to be approved. It is emphasized here that parameterizations, as the one described in this article, cannot replace measurements of solar UV radiation, but they can use existing measurements of solar global and diffuse radiation as well as data on atmospheric ozone to provide estimates of UV irradiation in regions and over time periods for which UV measurements are not available.

Europe's darker atmosphere in the UV-B

Irradiation in the ultraviolet wavelength range is found to be up to 50% lower in the European summer compared to sites with comparable latitudes in New Zealand. We have developed a method to quantitatively attribute the causes for such differences between sites by analysis of spectra. We conclude that these large differences are caused mainly by differences in total ozone, cloudiness, aerosol loading and Sun-Earth separation. The relative contribution of clouds varies from year to year and it is site dependent. Averaged over several years we find a strong latitudinal gradient of the cloud impact within Europe, with much less cloud attenuation in southern Europe. Due to the differences in total ozone and aerosol loading, the UV-B levels are generally lower in Europe compared to New Zealand. It is likely that inter-hemispheric differences will change in coming decades due to a combination of changes in ozone concentrations, air pollution and cloudiness as a result of climate change. However, since the future evolution of these major parameters is highly uncertain, the magnitude and even the sign of such changes are not known yet.

Comparison of two methods for cloud flagging of spectral UV measurements

Abstract This paper compares two methods of cloud flagging that were developed at the Deutscher Wetterdients (DWD) and at the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics, University of Thessaloniki (LAP). The two methods are applied to the same data set to uncover their similarities and differences. The LAP method aimed at flagging the quality of global UV irradiance spectral measurements with respect to the purity of their spectral characteristics, while the DWD flags describe the sky conditions and their effects on the radiation field in an absolute sense as well as their short-time variability. In this respect, the two methods appear to have distinct differences, and also similarities, in describing when the suns disk is occluded or not.

UV index forecasts and measurements of health-effective radiation.

While erythemal irradiance as a potentially damaging effect to the skin has been extensively studied and short-term forecasts have been issued to the public to reduce detrimental immediate and long-term effects such as sunburn and skin cancer by overexposure, beneficial effects to human health such as vitamin D(3) production by UV radiation and melatonin suppression by blue visible light have attained more and more attention, though both of them have not become part of forecasting yet. Using 4years of solar radiation data measured at the mid-latitude site Lindenberg (52°N), and forecast daily maximum UV index values, an overall good correspondence has been found. The data base of solar UV radiation and illuminance has also been used to analyze effects of clouds and aerosols on the effective irradiance. Optically thick clouds can strongly modify the ratios between erythemal and vitamin D(3) effective irradiance such that direct radiative transfer modeling of the latter in future UV forecasts should be preferably used. If parameterizations of vitamin D(3) effective irradiance from erythemal irradiance are used instead, the optical cloud depth would have to be taken into account to avoid an overestimation of vitamin D(3) with parameterizations neglecting cloud optical depth. Particular emphasis for the beneficial effects has been laid in our study on low exposure. Daily doses of solar irradiation for both vitamin D(3) and melatonin suppression do not reach minimum threshold doses even with clear sky and unobstructed horizon during the winter months.

The PROMOTE UV Record: Toward a Global Satellite-Based Climatology of Surface Ultraviolet Irradiance

This paper describes the PROMOTE UV Record, which aims to provide a global long-term record of the surface UV radiation. The algorithm developed takes as input cloud information from the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP) and a recently developed multisensor assimilated record of the total ozone column. Aerosols and surface albedo are based on climatologies. Here, first validation results of the PROMOTE UV Record are presented through comparison against ground-based measurements of daily erythemal UV doses at eight European stations. The validation shows that the method is working reasonably, although there is a clear tendency toward overestimation. Typically, the median bias as compared to measurements is 3%-10% and 56%-68% of the daily doses are within plusmn20% from the ground-based reference. The prototype version of the PROMOTE UV Record included in this paper covers the period from July 2002 to June 2005. The time series will later be extended to start in 1983.