Abstract
A generally accepted value for the Radiation Amplification Factor (RAF), with respect to the erythemal action spectrum for sunburn of human skin, is −1.1, indicating that a 1.0% increase in stratospheric ozone leads to a 1.1% decrease in the biologically damaging UV radiation in the erythemal action spectrum reaching the Earth. The RAF is used to quantify the non-linear change in the biologically damaging UV radiation in the erythemal action spectrum as a function of total column ozone (O3). Spectrophotometer measurements recorded at ten US monitoring sites were used in this analysis, and over 71,000 total UVR measurement scans of the sky were collected at those 10 sites between 1998 and 2000 to assess the RAF value. This UVR dataset was examined to determine the specific impact of clouds on the RAF. Five de novo modeling approaches were used on the dataset, and the calculated RAF values ranged from a low of −0.80 to a high of −1.38.
Highlights
The Radiation Amplification Factor (RAF) is defined as the measured percentage change in ultraviolet (UV) irradiance for each one-percent change in total column ozone [1]
Understanding variations in measured ultraviolet radiation (UVR) over time, along with associated RAF values, assists health scientists in determining risks associated with UVR exposure through the RAF for individuals and the environment [2]
This research project utilized a large dataset of UVR measurements from ten monitoring sites that were diverse with respect to spatial location, geography, climate, altitude, and ecology to calculate
Summary
The Radiation Amplification Factor (RAF) is defined as the measured percentage change in ultraviolet (UV) irradiance for each one-percent change in total column ozone [1]. Understanding variations in measured ultraviolet radiation (UVR) over time, along with associated RAF values, assists health scientists in determining risks associated with UVR exposure through the RAF for individuals and the environment [2]. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) poses risks to both humans and the environment, a number of national and international government, industrial, and university research organizations initiated programs to measure the amount of UVR reaching the Earth’s surface, since stratospheric ozone affects the amount of UVR reaching the Earth. The. United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) conducted a research program from 1996 to 2004 to measure ultraviolet radiation (UVR) at 21 network sites throughout the continental US, Alaska, Hawaii and the US Virgin Islands (St. John) under all weather conditions.
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