A Study of UVER in Santiago, Chile Based on Long-Term In Situ Measurements (Five Years) and Empirical Modelling

Lisdelys González-Rodríguez,Lien Rodríguez-López,Amauri Pereira de Oliveira,Ana Carolina Baeza,Jorge Rosas,David Contreras

doi:10.3390/en14020368

Lisdelys González-Rodríguez, Lien Rodríguez-López + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/en14020368

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Journal: Energies	Publication Date: Jan 11, 2021
Citations: 5	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Concepción, Universidade de São Paulo

Abstract

Ultraviolet radiation is a highly energetic component of the solar spectrum that needs to be monitored because is harmful to life on Earth, especially in areas where the ozone layer has been depleted, like Chile. This work is the first to address the long-term (five-year) behaviour of ultraviolet erythemal radiation (UVER) in Santiago, Chile (33.5° S, 70.7° W, 500 m) using in situ measurements and empirical modelling. Observations indicate that to alert the people on the risks of UVER overexposure, it is necessary to use, in addition to the currently available UV index (UVI), three more erythema indices: standard erythemal doses (SEDs), minimum erythemal doses (MEDs), and sun exposure time (tery). The combination of UVI, SEDs, MEDs, and tery shows that in Santiago, individuals with skin types III and IV are exposed to harmfully high UVER doses for 46% of the time that UVI indicates is safe. Empirical models predicted hourly and daily values UVER in Santiago with great accuracy and can be applied to other Chilean urban areas with similar climate. This research inspires future advances in reconstructing large datasets to analyse the UVER in Central Chile, its trends, and its changes.

Highlights

Ultraviolet solar radiation (UV, 100–400 nm) plays an important role in the upper atmosphere’s composition and material, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and human health [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]
The analyses of seasonal variation of ultraviolet erythemal radiation (UVER) and related variables used to assess its impact on human health, as well as the modelling, were carried based on the KT classification proposed by [30]
Values are expressed in MJ m−2 (IG, IGTOA) and kJm−2 (UVER), while hourly values are indicated in Wm−2

Summary

Introduction

Ultraviolet solar radiation (UV, 100–400 nm) plays an important role in the upper atmosphere’s composition and material, terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, and human health [1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8]. It is subdivided into three spectral bands: UV-C radiation (100–280 nm), UV-B radiation (280–315 nm), and UV-A radiation (315–400 nm). The Fitzpatrick classification identifies skin types based on the UV effect on the skin [19]

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