Abstract
Ultraviolet (UV) radiation has significant effects on ecosystems, environments, and human health, as well as atmospheric processes and climate change. Two ultraviolet radiation datasets are described in this paper. One contains hourly observations of UV radiation measured at 40 Chinese Ecosystem Research Network stations from 2005 to 2015. CUV3 broadband radiometers were used to observe the UV radiation, with an accuracy of 5%, which meets the World Meteorology Organization’s measurement standards. The extremum method was used to control the quality of the measured datasets. The other dataset contains daily cumulative UV radiation estimates that were calculated using an all-sky estimation model combined with a hybrid model. The reconstructed daily UV radiation data span from 1961 to 2014. The mean absolute bias error and root-mean-square error are smaller than 30% at most stations, and most of the mean bias error values are negative, which indicates underestimation of the UV radiation intensity. These datasets can improve our basic knowledge of the spatial and temporal variations in UV radiation. Additionally, these datasets can be used in studies of potential ozone formation and atmospheric oxidation, as well as simulations of ecological processes.
Highlights
The ultraviolet (UV) solar spectrum contributes only approximately 8.0% of the entire solar radiation at the top of the atmosphere (Gueymard, 2004), it is vital for ecosystems and the environment (Williamson et al, 2014), human health and climate change (Ferrero et al, 2006; Thomas et al, 2012)
CUV3 broadband radiometers (Kipp & Zonen, The Netherlands), which have an accuracy of 5%, have been installed at all Chinese Ecosystem Research Network (CERN) stations to make observations of UV
The hybrid model put forward and improved by Yang et al (2001, 2006) was applied to estimate solar radiation using the aerosol optical depth (AOD) and total column ozone measurements retrieved from satellite data and routine meteorological observations obtained from the China Meteorological Administration (CMA)
Summary
The ultraviolet (UV) solar spectrum contributes only approximately 8.0% of the entire solar radiation at the top of the atmosphere (Gueymard, 2004), it is vital for ecosystems and the environment (Williamson et al, 2014), human health and climate change (Ferrero et al, 2006; Thomas et al, 2012). UV radiation has gradually become one of the major topics investigated in current studies, especially since the discovery of the ozone hole. Wei et al (2006) analyzed the long-term changes in ozone and noontime erythemal UV radiation from 1978 to 2011 using Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer data products. They found that, in the eastern and southern parts of China, the ozone layer is not the main reason for the trend in UV irradiance; rainfall and the related cloud variations have significant correlations with UV radiation in these regions, and approximately 40%–.
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