Abstract
Abstract : The inactivation of airborne viral pathogens by solar radiation is relevant to public health and biodefense. We developed a simple nonlinear least-squares regression model for a wide variety of MODerate resolution atmospheric TRANsmission (MODTRAN) derived quantities that are useful for theoretical and experimental work in microbicidal UV radiation studies (280-320 nm) where the survival time of viruses in the atmosphere is determined. The virus action spectrum (inactivation sensitivity in UV wavelengths) used in the regression model represents a diverse range of viruses. In this report, wc outline in detail the procedure of computing the regression coefficients. To our knowledge, this is the first time that a comprehensive regression model has been attempted successfully for a complex radiative transfer scenario in the atmosphere as a function of altitude, ground albedo, and sea-level visibility distance. The regression model enables the predictions of the maximum number of radiation-days a virus will survive in the atmosphere under clear skies at a given altitude above a surface with given albedo and visibility conditions. The excellent agreement between the regression model data and MODTRAN computations should encourage other researchers to seek simple regression models to complement the more laborious MODTRAN computations in a variety of applications.
Published Version
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