Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Effects of clouds and stratospheric ozone depletion on ultraviolet radiation trends

  • Letter
  • Published:

From Nature

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Abstract

ANTHROPOGENIC depletion of ozone in the lower stratosphere has been of global environmental concern for two decades, but the environmentally relevant quantity—the flux of solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) reaching the Earth's surface—remains poorly quantified on a global basis. The three most important parameters governing surface UVR fluxes and trends are solar elevation, total vertically integrated ozone abundance and cloud opacity. Here we use global satellite measurements of total ozone abundance and cloud reflectance to examine how the trends in UVR resulting from established trends in total ozone abundance1,2 compare with the potentially large natural variability in UVR that results from variations in cloud opacity. We find that throughout many temperate regions—including large parts of continental Europe, North and South America, New Zealand, Australia and southern Africa—interannual variability in cloud opacity is sufficiently small that by the end of this century, trends in summer average local-noon UVR dose rates relevant to mammalian skin cancer or plant damage should be significant with respect to cloud variability.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bojkov, R., Bishop, L., Hill, W. J., Reinsel, G. C. & Tiao, G. C. J. geophys. Res. 95, 9785–9807 (1990).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Niu, X., Frederick, J. E., Stein, M. L. & Tiao, G. C. J. geophys. Res. 97, 14661–14669 (1992).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  3. Stolarski, R. S., Bloomfield, P. & McPeters, R. D. Geophs. Res. Lett. 18, 1015–1018 (1991).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Ramanathan, V. et al. Science 243, 57–63 (1989).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Joseph, J. H., Wiscombe, W. J. & Weinman, J. A. J. atmos. Sci. 33, 2453–2459 (1976).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Li, Z. & Garand, L. J. geophys. Res. 99, 8335–8350 (1994).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  7. Briegleb, B. P. J. geophys. Res. 97, 7603–7612 (1992).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  8. Wittmeyer, I. L. & Vonder Haar, T. H. J. Clim. 7, 326–333 (1994).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  9. Lubin, D., Ricchiazzi, P., Gautier, C. & Whritner, R. H. in Ultraviolet Radiation in Antarctica: Measurements and Biological Effects (eds Weiler, S. & Penhale, P.) 53–81 (Antarctic Res. Ser. Vol. 62, Am. Geophys. Union, Washington DC, 1994).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  10. Madronich, S. in Environmental UV Photobiology (eds Young, A. R., Björn, L. O., Moan, J. & Nultsch, W.) 1–39 (Plenum, New York. 1993).

    Book  Google Scholar 

  11. Cole, C. A., Forbes, D. & Davies, R. E. Photochem. Photobiol. 43, 275–284 (1986).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Quaite, F. E., Sutherland, B. M. & Sutherland, J. C. Nature 358, 576–578 (1992).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Frederick, J. E. & Lubin, D. J. geophys. Res. 93, 3825–3832 (1988).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  14. Eck, T. F., Bhartia, P. K. & Kerr, J. B. Geophys. Res. Lett. 22, 611–614 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  15. Gleason, J. F. et al. Science 260, 523–526 (1993).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Brühl, C. & Crutzen, P. J. Geophys. Res. Lett. 16, 703–706 (1989).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. Lubin, D. et al. J. geophys. Res. 97, 7817–7828 (1992).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Stamnes, K., Slusser, J., Bowen, M., Booth, C. R. & Lucas, T. Geophys. Res. Lett. 17, 2181–2184 (1990).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  19. Seckmeyer, G. et al. Geophys. Res. Lett. 22, 1889–1892 (1995).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  20. Madronich, S. Geophys. Res. Lett. 19, 37–40 (1992).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  21. Blumthaler, M. & Ambach, W. Science 248, 206–208 (1990).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  22. Liou, K. N. Radiation and Cloud Processes in the Atmosphere 305–307 (Oxford Univ. Press, 1992).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Pilewskie, P. & Valero, F. P. J. Science 267, 1626–1629 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  24. Li, Z., Barker, H. W. & Moreau, L. Nature 376, 486–490 (1995).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  25. Ramanathan, V. & Collins, W. Nature 351, 27–32 (1991).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. California Space Institute, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093-0221, USA

    Dan Lubin

  2. SeaSpace Corporation, San Diego, California, 92126, USA

    Elsa H. Jensen

Authors
  1. Dan Lubin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elsa H. Jensen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Lubin, ., Jensen, E. Effects of clouds and stratospheric ozone depletion on ultraviolet radiation trends. Nature 377, 710–713 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1038/377710a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/377710a0

  • Springer Nature Limited

This article is cited by

Search

Navigation