Comparison of radiation schemes for calculating UV radiation

Piers M. deF. Forster; Keith P. Shine; Ann Ruth Webb

doi:10.1117/12.163520

2 November 1993 Comparison of radiation schemes for calculating UV radiation

Piers M. deF. Forster, Keith P. Shine, Ann Ruth Webb

Proceedings Volume 2049, Atmospheric Radiation; (1993) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.163520
Event: High Latitude Optics, 1993, Tromso, Norway

Abstract

Increases in ultraviolet radiation (UV) caused by ozone depletion in the stratosphere are expected to have physiological effects on plants and animals. Biologists require high wavelength resolution UV data to adequately assess these effects. Numerical simulations of scattering and absorption in the atmosphere provide a useful way of predicting the global UV irradiance reaching the ground. Results from radiative transfer calculations are presented here. Two different methods are used to calculate diffuse irradiances, either the Discrete-Ordinate (D-O) method or the Delta-Eddington (D-E) approximation. Surface UV irradiances obtained with the D-O scheme are compared to those using the D-E approximation for a wide variety of atmospheric conditions, to assess how changes in tropospheric aerosol and cloud affect the accuracy of the D-E approximation. Stratospheric aerosol has been shown to be capable of increasing the UV irradiances at the ground. The magnitude of these increases is shown to depend strongly on the absorption of multiple scattered photons by ozone. The prediction of this increase by numerical models provides a good test of the accuracy of any radiative transfer approximations used. It is shown that the Delta-Eddington approximation appears to be deficient for high wavelength resolution surface irradiance prediction, in certain circumstances.

Citation Download Citation

Piers M. deF. Forster, Keith P. Shine, and Ann Ruth Webb "Comparison of radiation schemes for calculating UV radiation", Proc. SPIE 2049, Atmospheric Radiation, (2 November 1993); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.163520

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available