Overview
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation emanating from the sun travels unaltered until it enters the earth’s atmosphere. Here, absorption and scattering by various gases and particles modify the radiation profoundly, so that by the time it reaches the terrestrial and oceanic biospheres, the wavelengths which are most harmful to organisms have been largely filtered out. Human activities are now changing the composition of the atmosphere, raising serious concerns about how this will affect the wavelength distribution and quantity of ground-level UV radiation.
The objective of this chapter is to give the reader familiarity with the basic concepts related to quantifying environmental UV radiation. Section 2 discusses the UV output of the sun and the geometric factors which relate the earth’s orbit and rotation to the sun’s illumination. Section 3 describes some aspects of the earth’s atmosphere, with emphasis on those atmospheric constituents which affect UV transmission. Section 4 presents fundamental concepts of absorption and scattering of atmospheric radiation and some techniques for estimating their influence on UV radiation reaching the biosphere. Biologically weighted radiation and its sensitivity to atmospheric variability are discussed in Section 5. Section 6 summarizes recent trends in UV radiation resulting from atmospheric changes.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Beaglehole, D., and Carter, G. G., 1992a, Antarctic skies 1. Diurnal variations of the sky irradiance, and UV effects of the ozone hole, spring 1990, J. Geophys. Res. 97:2589–2596.
Beaglehole, D., and Carter, G. G., 1992b, Antarctic skies 2. Characterization of the intensity and polarization of skylight in a high albedo environment, J. Geophys. Res. 97:2597–2600.
Beggs, C. J., and Wellmann, E., 1985, Analysis of light-controlled anthocyanin formation in coleoptiles of Zea mays 1.: The role of UV-B, blue, red and far-red light, Photochem. Photobiol. 41:481–486.
Blumthaler, M., and Ambach, W., 1988, Solar UVB-albedo of various surfaces, Photochem. Photobiol. 48:85–88.
Bornman, J. F., Björn, L. O., and Åkerlund, H.-E., 1984, Action spectrum for inhibition by ultraviolet radiation of photosystem II activity in spinach thylakoids, Photobiochem. Photobiophys. 8:305–313.
Brasseur, G. P., and Solomon, S., 1986, Aeronomy of the Middle Atmosphere, 2nd ed., D. Reidel, Dordrecht.
Brühl, C., and Crutzen, P. J., 1989, On the disproportionate role of tropospheric ozone as a filter against solar UV-B radiation, Geophys. Res. Lett. 16:703–706.
Caldwell, M. M., Camp, L. B., Warner, C. W., and Flint, S. D., 1986, Action spectra and their key role in assessing biological consequences of solar UV-B radiation chance, in: Stratospheric Ozone Reduction, Solar Ultraviolet Radiation and Plant Life (R. C. Worrest and M. M. Caldwell, eds.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 87–111.
Chan, G. L., Peak, M. J., Peak, J. G., and Haseltine, W. A., 1986, Action spectrum for the formation of endonuclease-sensitive sites and (6–4) photoproducts induced in a DNA fragment by ultraviolet radiation, Int. J. Radiat. Biol. 50:641–648.
Chandrasekhar, S., 1960, Radiative Transfer, Dover, New York.
Cole, C. A., Forbes, D., and Davies, R. E., 1986, An action spectrum for UV photocarcinogenesis, Photochem. Photobiol. 43:275–284.
Coulson, K. L., and Reynolds, W. D., 1971, The spectral reflectance of natural surfaces, J. Appl. Meteorol. 10:1285–1295.
Cutchis, P., 1980, A Formula for Comparing Annual Damaging Ultraviolet (DUV) Radiation Doses at Tropical and Mid-Latitude Sites, Federal Aviation Administration Report-FAA-EE 80-21, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, DC.
Davidson, J. A., Cantrell, C. A., McDaniel, A. H., Shetter, R. E., Madronich, S., and Calvert, J. G., 1988, Visible-ultraviolet absorption cross section for NO2 as a function of temperature, J. Geophys. Res. 93:7105–7112.
De Fabo, E. C., and Noonan, F. P., 1983, Mechanism of immune suppression by ultraviolet radiation in vivo. I. Evidence for the existence of a unique photoreceptor in skin and its role in photoimmunology, J. Exp. Med. 158:84–98.
Dickerson, R. R., Stedman, D. H., and Delany, A. C., 1982, Direct measurements of ozone and nitrogen dioxide photolysis rates in the troposphere, J. Geophys. Res. 87:45933–4946.
Doda, D. D., and Green, A. E. S., 1980, Surface reflectance measurements in the UV from an airborne platform, Part 1, Appl. Opt. 19:2140–2145.
Doda, D. D., and Green, A. E. S., 1981, Surface reflectance measurements in the UV from an airborne platform, Part 2, Appl. Opt. 20:636–642.
Duffett-Smith, P., 1988, Practical Astronomy with your Calculator, 3rd ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Finlayson-Pitts, B. J., and Pitts, J. N., 1986, Atmospheric Chemistry, Wiley-Interscience, New York.
Frederick, J. E., and Alberts, A. D., 1991, Prolonged enhancement in surface ultraviolet radiation during the Antarctic spring of 1990, Geophys. Res. Lett. 18:1869–1871.
Frederick, J. E., and Snell, H. E., 1990, Tropospheric influence on solar ultraviolet radiation: The role of clouds, J. Climate 3:373–381.
Frölich, C., and Shaw, G. E., 1980, New determination of Rayleigh scattering in the terrestrial atmosphere, Appl. Opt. 19:1773–1775.
Goody, R. M, and Yung, Y. L., 1989, Atmospheric Radiation, Oxford University Press, New York.
Green, A. E. S., Cross, K. R., and Smith, L. A., 1980, Improved analytic characterization of ultraviolet skylight, Photochem. Photobiol. 31:59–65.
Häder, D.-P., and Worrest, R. C., 1991, Effects of enhanced solar ultraviolet radiation on aquatic ecosystems, Photochem. Photobiol. 53:717–725.
Hansen, J. E., and Travis, L. D., 1974, Light scattering in planetary atmospheres, Space Sci. Rev. 16:527–610.
Haurwitz, B., 1948, Insolation in relation to cloud type, J. Meteorol. 5:110–113.
Hoyt, D. V., Kyle, H. L., Hickey, H. R., and Maschhoff, R. H., 1992, The Nimbus 7 solar total irradiance: A new algorithm for its derivation, J. Geophys. Res. 97:51–63.
Ilyas, M, 1987, Effect of cloudiness on solar ultraviolet radiation reaching the surface, Atmos. Environ. 21:1483–1484.
Imbrie, C. W., and Murphy, T. M., 1982, UV-action spectrum (254–405 nm) for inhibition of K+-stimulated adenosine triphosphatase from a plasma membrane of Rosa damascena, Photochem. Photobiol. 36:537–542.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 1990, Climate Change, Cambridge University Press, New York.
Josefsson, W., 1986, Solar Ultraviolet Radiation in Sweden, National Institute of Radiation Protection in Stockholm, SMHI Report-53, Norrköping, Sweden.
Joseph, J. H., Wiscombe, W. J., and Weinman, J. A., 1976, The delta-Eddington approximation for radiative flux transfer, J. Atmos. Sci. 33:2452–2459.
Keyse, S. M, Moses, S. H., and Davies, D. J. G., 1983, Action spectra for inactivation of normal and xeroderma pigmentosum human skin fibroblasts by ultraviolet radiation, Photochem. Photobiol. 37:307–312.
Kligman, L. H., and Sayre, R. M., 1991, An action spectrum for ultraviolet induced elastosis in hairless mice: Quantification of elastosis by image analysis, Photochem. Photobiol. 53:237–242.
Kondratyev, K. Ya., 1969, Radiation in the Atmosphere, Academic Press, New York.
Liu, S. C., McKeen, S. A., and Madronich, S., 1991, Effects of anthropogenic aerosols on biologically active ultraviolet radiation, Geophys. Res. Lett. 18:2265–2268.
Logan, J. A., 1985, Tropospheric ozone: Seasonal behavior, trends, and anthropogenic influence, J. Geophys. Res. 90:10463–10482.
Logan, J. A., 1989, Ozone in rural areas of the United States, J. Geophys. Res. 94:8511–8532.
Lubin, D., and Frederick, J. E., 1989, Measurements of enhanced springtime ultraviolet radiation at Palmer station, Antarctica, Geophys. Res. Lett. 16:783–785.
Lubin, D., and Frederick, J. E., 1990, Column ozone measurements from Palmer station, Antarctica: Variations during the austral springs of 1988 and 1989, J. Geophys. Res. 95:13883–13889.
Lubin, D., Frederick, J. E., and Krueger, A. J., 1989, The ultraviolet radiation environment of Antarctica: McMurdo station during September-October 1987, J. Geophys. Res. 94:8491–8496.
Lubin, D., Mitchell, B. G., Frederick, J. E., Roberts, A. D., Booth, C. R., Lucas, T., and Neuschuler, D., 1992, A contribution toward understanding the biospherical significance of Antarctic ozone depletion, J. Geophys. Res. 97:7817–7828.
Madronich, S., 1992a, Implications of recent total atmospheric ozone measurements for biologically active ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth’s surface, Geophys. Res. Lett. 19:37–40.
Madronich, S., 1992b, The Natural Ultraviolet Radiation Environment, paper presented at the 20th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Photobiology, Marco Island, Florida, June 20–24.
McCartney, E. J., 1976, Optics of the Atmosphere, Wiley, New York.
McCormick, M. P., Veiga, R. E., and Chu, W., 1992, Stratospheric ozone profile and total ozone trends derived from the SAGE I and SAGE II data, Geophys. Res. Lett. 19:269–272.
McGee, T. J., and Burris, J., Jr., 1987, SO2 absorption cross section in the near U.V., J. Quant. Spectros. Radiat. Transfer 37: 165–182.
McKinlay, A. F., and Diffey, B. L., 1987, A reference action spectrum for ultraviolet induced erythema in human skin, in: Human Exposure to Ultraviolet Radiation: Risks and Regulations (W. R. Passchler and B. F. M. Bosnajokovic, eds.), Elsevier, Amsterdam.
Meador, W. E., and Weaver, W. R., 1980, Two-stream approximations to radiative transfer in planetary atmospheres: A unified description of existing methods and a new improvement, J. Atmos. Sci. 37:630–643.
Molina, L. T., and Molina, M. J., 1986, Absolute absorption cross sections of ozone in the 185-to 350-nm wavelength range, J. Geophys. Res. 91:14501–14508.
National Research Council (NRC), 1986, Acid Deposition Long Term Trends, National Academy Press, Washington, DC.
Oltmans, S. J., Komhyr, W. D., Franchois, P. R., and Matthews, W. A., 1989, Tropospheric ozone: Variations from surface and ECC ozonesonde observations, in: Ozone in the Atmosphere, proceedings of the Quadrennial Ozone Symposium 1988 and Tropospheric Ozone Workshop, Göttingen, Federal Republic of Germany, August 1988 (R. Bojkov and P. Fabian, eds.), Deepak Publishing, Hampton, Virginia.
Paltridge, G. W., and Barton, I. J., 1978, Erythemal Ultraviolet Radiation Distribution over Australia—the Calculations, Detailed Results and Input Data Including Frequency Analysis of Observed Australian Cloud Cover, Division of Atmospheric Physics Technical Paper-33, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia.
Peak, M. J., Peak, J. G., Moehring, M. P., and Webb, R. B., 1984, Ultraviolet action spectra for DNA dimer induction, lethality, and mutagenesis in Escherichia coli with emphasis on the UVB region, Photochem. Photobiol. 40:613–620.
Pitts, D. G., Cullen, A. P., and Hacker, P. D., 1977, Ocular effects of ultraviolet radiation from 295 to 365 nm, Invest. Ophthalmol. Visual Sci. 16:932–939.
Roy, C. T., Gies, H. P., and Graeme, E., 1990, Ozone depletion, Science, 347:235–236.
Rundel, R. D., 1983, Action spectra and the estimation of biologically effective UV radiation, Physiol. Plant. 58:360–366.
Setlow, R. B., 1974, The wavelengths in sunlight effective in producing skin cancer: A theoretical analysis, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 71:3363–3366.
Sharma, R. C., and Jagger, J., 1979, Ultraviolet (254–405 nm) action spectrum and kinetic studies of analine uptake in Escherichia coli B/R, Photochem. Photobiol. 30:661–666.
Shetter, R. E., McDaniel, A. H., Cantrell, C. A., Madronich, S., and Calvert, J. G., 1992, Actinometer and Eppley radiometer measurements of the NO2 photolysis rate coefficient during MLOPEX, J. Geophys. Res. 97:10349–10359.
Smart, W. M., 1979, Textbook on Spherical Astronomy, 6th ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Smith, R. C., Prezelin, B. B., Baker, K. S., Bidigare, R. R., Boucher, N. P., Coley, T., Karentz, D., MacIntyre, S., Matlick, H. A., Menzies, D., Ondrusek, M., Wan, Z., and Waters, K. J., 1992, Ozone depletion: Ultraviolet radiation and phytoplankton biology in Antarctic waters, Science 255:952–959.
Spencer, J. W., 1971, Fourier series representation of the position of the sun, Search 2:172.
Stamnes, K., Tsay, S. C., Wiscombe, W., and Jayaweera, K., 1988, Numerically stable algorithm for discrete-ordinate-method radiative transfer in multiple scattering and emitting layers, Appl. Opt. 27:2502–2509.
Stamnes, K., Slusser, J., Bowen, M., Booth, C., and Lucas, T., 1990, Biologically effective ultraviolet radiation, total ozone abundance, and cloud optical depth at McMurdo station, Antarctica, September 15, 1988, through April 15, 1989, Geophys. Res. Lett. 17:2181–2184.
Stamnes, K., Jin, Z., Slusser, J., Booth, C., and Lucas, T., 1992, Several-fold enhancement of biologically effective ultraviolet radiation levels at McMurdo station Antarctica during the 1990 ozone “hole,” Geophys. Res. Lett. 19:1013–1016.
Stein, B., Rahmsdorf, H. J., Steffen, A., Litfin, M., and Herrlich, P., 1989, UV-induced DNA damage is an intermediate step in UV-induced expression of human immunodeficiency virus type 1, collagenase, c-fos, and metallothionein, Mol. Cell. Biol. 9:5169–5181.
Steinmetz, V., and Wellmann, E., 1986, The role of solar UV-B in growth regulation of cress (Lepidium sativum L.) seedlings, Photochem. Photobiol. 43:189–193.
Stolarski, R. S., Bloomfield, P., McPeters, R. D., and Herman, J. R., 1991, Total ozone trends deduced from Nimbus 7 TOMS data, Geophys. Res. Lett. 18:1015–1018.
Stolarski, R., Bojkov, R., Bishop, L., Zerefos, C., Staehelin, J., and Zawodny, J., 1992, Measured trends in stratospheric ozone, Science 256:342–349.
Toon, O. B., McKay, C. P., Ackerman, T. P., and Santhanam, K., 1989, Rapid calculation of radiative heating rates and photodissociation rates in inhomogeneous multiple scattering atmospheres, J. Geophys. Res. 94:16287–16301.
UNEP, 1991, Environmental Effects of Ozone Depletion: 1991 update (J. C. Van der Leun, M. Tevini, and R. C. Worrest, eds.), United Nations Environmental Programme, Nairobi, Kenya.
Urbach, F., Berger, D., and Davies, R. E., 1974, Field measurements of biologically effective UV radiation and its relation to skin cancer in man, in: Proceedings of the Third Conference on Climatic Impact Assessment Program (A. J. Broderick and T. M. Hard, eds.), U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Washington, DC.
U.S. Standard Atmosphere, 1976, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United States Air Force, Washington, DC.
Warneck, P., Marmo, F. F., and Sullivan, J. O., 1964, Ultraviolet absorption of SO2: Dissociation energies of SO2 and SO, J. Chem. Phys. 40:1132–1132.
Wellmann, E., 1985, UV-B-Signal/Response-Beziehungen unter natürlichen und artifiziellen Lichtbedingungen, her. Dtsch. Bot. Ges. 98:99–104.
WMO, 1985, Atmospheric Ozone 1985, Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project—Report No. 16, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva.
WMO, 1989, Scientific Assessment of Stratospheric Ozone: 1989, Volume I, Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project—Report No. 20, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva.
WMO, 1991, Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion: 1991, Global Ozone Research and Monitoring Project—Report No. 25, World Meteorological Organization, Geneva.
Yatsuhashi, H., Hashimoto, T., and Shimizu, S., 1982, Ultraviolet action spectrum for anthocyanin formation in broom sorghum first internodes, Plant Physiol. 70:735–741.
Zölzer, F., and Kiefer, J., 1984, Wavelength dependence of inactivation and mutation induction to 6-thioguanine-resistance in V79 Chinese hamster fibroblasts, Photochem. Photobiol. 40: 49–53.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1993 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Madronich, S. (1993). The Atmosphere and UV-B Radiation at Ground Level. In: Young, A.R., Moan, J., Björn, L.O., Nultsch, W. (eds) Environmental UV Photobiology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2406-3_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2406-3_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-2408-7
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-2406-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive