The world's highest levels of surface UV

Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Date
2014
Volume
13
Issue
1
Journal
Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences 13 (2014), Nr. 1
Series Titel
Book Title
Publisher
Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry
Link to publishers version
Abstract

Chile's northern Atacama Desert has been pointed out as one of the places on earth where the world's highest surface ultraviolet (UV) may occur. This area is characterized by its high altitude, prevalent cloudless conditions and relatively low total ozone column. Aimed at detecting those peak UV levels, we carried out in January 2013 ground-based spectral measurements on the Chajnantor Plateau (5100 m altitude, 23°00′S, 67°45′W) and at the Paranal Observatory (2635 m altitude, 24°37′S, 70°24′W). The UV index computed from our spectral measurements peaked at 20 on the Chajnantor Plateau (under broken cloud conditions) and at 16 at the Paranal Observatory (under cloudless conditions). Spectral measurements carried out in June 2005 at the Izaña Observatory (2367 m altitude, 28°18′N, 16°30′W) were used for further comparisons. Due to the differences in sun-earth separation, total ozone column, altitude, albedo, aerosols and clouds, peak UV levels are expected to be significantly higher at southern hemisphere sites than at their northern hemisphere counterparts. © 2014 The Royal Society of Chemistry and Owner Societies.

Description
Keywords
License
Es gilt deutsches Urheberrecht. Das Dokument darf zum eigenen Gebrauch kostenfrei genutzt, aber nicht im Internet bereitgestellt oder an Außenstehende weitergegeben werden. Dieser Beitrag ist aufgrund einer (DFG-geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.