Abstract
When it was realized that global ozone reductions were occurring, a program to measure the spectral distribution of UV was initiated in New Zealand. The aims of this program are to understand the reasons for variability in UV, to build up a climatology of UV and relate it to UV levels at other locations, and to monitor future long-term trends.
A purpose-built instrument was developed to enable routine measurements of cosine weighted spectral UV irradiances incident on a horizontal surface at the ground. The spectral range covered is 290–450 nm, and the instrument bandpass is approximately 1 nm. Measurements have been made routinely at Lauder Central Otago (45°S, 170°E, elevation 370m) since December 1989. Scans are made each day at 5° intervals in solar zenith angle (SZA, for SZA <75°) whenever weather permits. Near local solar noon, extra scans are logged, including measurements of the diffuse component during clear sky conditions.
The observation period is still too short to allow determination of trends in UV. However, the sensitivity of UV spectra to changes in ozone, cloud, sun angle, and aerosols is demonstrated. Preliminary results from a recent intercalibration of spectrometers are discussed. These enable a comparison to be made between UV spectra measured in New Zealand and those as measured in Australia and Europe.
The spectral measurements at Lauder are complemented by measurements with broad-band instruments there and at other sites. The performance of these instruments is discussed, and recent results showing upward trends in UV from 10 years of R-B meter observations from Invercargill (46.3°S, 168.3°E) are reviewed.
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McKenzie, R.L. (1994). UV Radiation Monitoring in New Zealand. In: Biggs, R.H., Joyner, M.E.B. (eds) Stratospheric Ozone Depletion/UV-B Radiation in the Biosphere. NATO ASI Series, vol 18. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78884-0_33
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-78884-0_33
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