Ultraviolet Spectroradiometers Research Articles

Monte Carlo Evaluation of Uncertainties of UV Spectra Measured With Brewer Spectroradiometers

AbstractPrecise spectral ultraviolet (UV) measurements are needed to ensure human protection as well as to support scientific research. Quantifying the uncertainty of the UV spectra recorded is crucial to evaluate the quality of the measurements which is needed, in turn, for the assessment of their reliability. However, for double‐monochromator spectroradiometers, the analytical derivation of this uncertainty is a challenging task due to the difficulties involved in propagating individual uncertainties. Under these circumstances, a Monte Carlo simulation is a reliable alternative as it does not require the calculation of partial derivatives and considers both nonlinear effects and correlations in the data. In the present study, the uncertainty of the spectral UV irradiance measured by a Brewer MKIII spectrophotometer is evaluated using a Monte Carlo approach. This instrument belongs to the National Institute of Aerospace Technology and has successfully participated in several international campaigns, which ensures its precise calibration. The average expanded uncertainty (k = 2) of the global UV irradiance measured by this instrument varies between 10% at 300 nm and 7% at 363 nm. At shorter wavelengths, it increases sharply due to thermal and electronic noise as well as wavelength misalignment. The results indicate that a Brewer spectrophotometer is suitable for climatological studies and model validation. Nevertheless, a substantial reduction of these uncertainties might be required for accurately detecting long‐term UV trends. Although the study focused on a Brewer spectrometer, the methodology used for the uncertainty analysis is general and can be adapted to most UV spectroradiometers.

A High Resolution Ultraviolet Spectroradiometer and its Application in Solar Radiation Measurement

AbstractA recent laboratory study suggests that water vapor displays structured absorption features over the 290–350 nm region, with maximum and minimum cross‐sections of 8.4 × 10−25 and 1.4 × 10−25 cm2/molecule at room temperature (Pei et al. 2019, https://doi.org/10.1029/2019jd030724; Du et al., 2013, https://doi.org/10.1002/grl.50935). To observe water vapor absorption features in the ultraviolet (UV) region in the atmosphere, a United States Department of Agriculture reference spectroradiometer was upgraded with a new fore‐optical module, enabling it to measure direct solar beam and sky radiance at given azimuth and elevation angles. This double Czerny‐Turner spectroradiometer enables wavelength scanning from 290 to 410 nm, with a nominal bandwidth of 0.1 nm. It can operate with a step‐size of 0.0005 nm and a full width at half maximum of 0.1 nm. It has an out‐of‐band rejection ratio of approximately 10−10. This high resolution spectroradiometer can be used as a reference instrument for UV radiation measurements and for monitoring atmospheric gases such as O3, SO2, and NO2. A series of field observations were made using this spectroradiometer in the University at Albany campus. A residual analysis method is developed to analyze absorption by atmospheric components and to retrieve atmospheric optical depth. The residual optical depth was calculated by subtracting the optical depths of Rayleigh scattering, aerosol extinction, and absorption of typical atmospheric gases such as O3, SO2, and NO2 from the retrieved total optical depth. Multiple case studies show that residual optical depth from the observed UV spectra is sensitive to the atmospheric water vapor amount. The greater the water vapor path, the larger the magnitude of residual optical depth. The ozone amount was inferred from the residual analysis; it is comparable to the satellite measurements. For example, in a case with water vapor path of 13 mm on October 24, 2019, the inferred ozone amount from residual analysis is 2.7% lower than retrievals from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument‐Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer.

Autonomous Portable Solar Ultraviolet Spectroradiometer (APSUS) – a New CCD Spectrometer System for Localized, Real‐Time Solar Ultraviolet (280–400 nm) Radiation Measurement

Terrestrial solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation has significant implications for human health and increasing levels are a key concern regarding the impact of climate change. Monitoring solar UV radiation at the earth's surface is therefore of increasing importance. A new prototype portable CCD (charge-coupled device) spectrometer-based system has been developed that monitors UV radiation (280-400nm) levels at the earth's surface. It has the ability to deliver this information to the public in real time. Since the instrument can operate autonomously, it is called the Autonomous Portable Solar Ultraviolet Spectroradiometer (APSUS). This instrument incorporates an Ocean Optics QE65000 spectrometer which is contained within a robust environmental housing. The APSUS system can gather reliable solar UV spectral data from approximately April to October inclusive (depending on ambient temperature) in the UK. In this study the new APSUS unit and APSUS system are presented. Example solar UV spectra and diurnal UV Index values as measured by the APSUS system in London and Weymouth in the UK in summer 2012 are shown.

紫外臭氧垂直探测仪高精度在轨光谱定标方法研究

紫外臭氧垂直探测仪高精度在轨光谱定标方法研究

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大气/真空环境紫外臭氧垂直探测仪光谱辐照度定标研究

2003 North American interagency intercomparison of ultraviolet spectroradiometers: scanning and spectrograph instruments.

The fifth North American Intercomparison of Ultraviolet Monitoring Spectroradiometers was held June 13 to 21, 2003 at Table Mountain outside of Boulder, Colorado, USA. The main purpose of the Intercomparison was to assess the ability of spectroradiometers to accurately measure solar ultraviolet irradiance, and to compare the results between instruments of different monitoring networks. This Intercomparison was coordinated by NOAA and included participants from six national and international agencies. The UV measuring instruments included scanning spectroradiometers, spectrographs, and multi-filter radiometers. Synchronized spectral scans of the solar irradiance were performed between June 16 and 20, 2003. The spectral responsivities were determined for each instrument using the participants' lamps and calibration procedures and with NOAA/CUCF standard lamps. This paper covers the scanning spectroradiometers and the one spectrograph. The solar irradiance measurements from the different instruments were deconvolved using a high resolution extraterrestrial solar irradiance and reconvolved with a 1-nm triangular band-pass to account for differences in the bandwidths of the instruments. The measured solar irradiance from the spectroradiometers using the rivmSHIC algorithm on a clear-sky day on DOY 172 at 17.0 UTC (SZA = 30o) had a relative 1- standard deviation of +/-2.6 to 3.4% for 300- to 360-nm using the participants' calibration.

Calibration, data processing, and maintenance of the United States Department of Agriculture high-resolution ultraviolet spectroradiometers

The USDA ultraviolet radiation network currently includes four high-resolution spectroradiometers, located at Table Mountain, Colorado (deployed November 1998); the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Climate Research Facility in Oklahoma (October 1999); Beltsville, Maryland (November 1999); and Fort Collins, Colorado (October 2002). These spectroradiometers contain Jobin Yvon's 1-m Czerny-Turner double additive spectrometers. The instruments measure total horizontal radiation in the 290- to 371-nm range, once every 30 min, with a nominal FWHM of 0.1 nm. We describe data quality control techniques as well as the data processing required to convert the raw data into calibrated irradiances. The radiometric calibration strategies using Central UV Calibration Facility FEL lamps that are directly NIST-traceable, portable field calibrators, and vicarious calibrations using data from UV multifilter rotating shadowband radiometers (MFRSRs) are discussed. Using direct-to-diffuse ratios from UV MFRSRs, we derive direct and diffuse high-resolution horizontal spectra from the collocated UV spectroradiometers of the USDA network. The direct-beam spectra can be used in a Langley regression that leads to spectroradiometric in situ calibration and to ozone column and aerosol optical depth retrievals. The high-resolution direct spectra are used to obtain the ozone column and aerosol optical depth in the 290- to 360-nm range at 0.1-nm resolution. A statistical summary of network performance is presented.

A CCD Spectroradiometer for Ultraviolet Actinic Radiation Measurements

Abstract A new spectroradiometer for spectral measurements of ultraviolet (UV) atmospheric radiation (290–400 nm) using a charge coupled device (CCD) as a detector is introduced. The instrument development is motivated by the need for measurements with (a) high accuracy in the UV-B spectral range (290–315 nm) for photochemistry applications and (b) high temporal resolution in quickly changing atmospheric conditions such as partial cloud cover. The new CCD instrument is mainly intended for airborne use. It allows fast data collection (<300 ms time resolution for each spectrum) with improved sensitivity in the UV spectral range. The instrumental setup and its characterization in terms of stray light, dark current, noise, and detection limits are described and compared to a spectroradiometer with a photodiode array (PDA) detector. The new CCD spectroradiometer has a one order of magnitude greater sensitivity than the PDA-based spectroradiometer. However, the stray light of the CCD instrument is wavelength dependent, which requires a more complicated data evaluation procedure than the PDA instrument. Comparison with other UV spectroradiometers (a PDA spectroradiometer and two ground-based double monochromators) shows the advantages of the CCD system for UV-B measurements of actinic flux densities and photolysis frequencies of ozone and nitrogen dioxide, and the improved performance compared to PDA spectroradiometers.

New Spectroradiometers Complying with the NDSC Standards

Abstract The investigation of the effect of solar ultraviolet (UV) and visible radiation on biological organisms and photochemical reactions requires spectral measurements of the desired radiation parameters of high accuracy. The Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change (NDSC) and the World Meteorological Organization have set up stringent requirements for high-quality spectral measurements of ultraviolet radiation. It is shown that two new instruments comply with these standards. One is the newly developed spectroradiometer of the Institute of Meteorology and Climatology, University of Hannover, Hannover, Germany. It is capable of covering the spectral range from the UV to the near-infrared (290–1050 nm) in a comparably fine resolution. One major aim is to deploy this instrument as a traveling NDSC spectroradiometer. The other new instrument is built for the U.S. National Science Foundation's UV Monitoring Network. It is designed to monitor UV and visible irradiance at high latitudes and covers a wavelength range from 280 to 600 nm. Data of both instruments show deviations of less than 5% for a wide range of atmospheric conditions compared to a NDSC spectroradiometer owned by the Climate Monitoring and Diagnostics Laboratory during the fifth North American Interagency Intercomparison for UV Spectroradiometers. Such deviations represent state-of-the-art instrumentation for conducting long-term measurements of solar UV radiation capable of detecting trends and supporting long-term measurements by traveling standards. Furthermore, there is now an instrument capable of measuring solar irradiance in a wavelength range from 250 to 1050 nm.

Spectral observations and modeling of the Arctic surface radiation environment

Measurements from three spectral instruments, the Solar Spectral Flux Radiometer (SSFR), the Rotating Shadowband Spectrometer (RSS), and the Solar Ultraviolet Spectroradiometer (SUV), are compared to results from the Santa Barbara Moderate Resolution Radiative Transfer Model (SBMOD). SSFR data are from the SHEBA experiment of May–June 1998. RSS and SUV data are from Barrow, Alaska, April 1999. SBMOD is a recently developed model utilizing the correlated‐k method of computing gaseous absorption and convolves the solar source function and the instrument's filter function during computations. Comparisons indicate that absorption of ozone, water vapor, oxygen, and the O2‐O2 absorption complexes are well characterized by the model. There does not appear to be any significant unexplained absorption between 0.4 and 1.0 microns, as evidenced by comparisons between SBMOD and both SSFR and RSS data. However, a more absorptive aerosol was required to reach agreement between SBMOD and RSS diffuse fields than we anticipated. Data from the RSS and SUV possess similar structure over their entire shared spectral range from 400 to 600 nm, and the RSS and SSFR possess similar structure between 500 and 1000 nm. However, below 500 nanometers, measurements from all three instruments diverge noticeably from model results. The residual between the SUV and RSS measurements and SBMOD are similar to those presented in prior studies, suggesting that there may be errors in several widely used representations of the solar spectrum between 400 and 500 nm. The shape of the SSFR's data in this region has yet to be fully explained; aspects of its calibration and operation may be the main source of uncertainty.

Pre‐vitamin D3 effective ultraviolet transmission through clothing during simulated wear

Clothing is an important protective layer used to reduce ultraviolet (UV) exposures to the skin surface. However, not all UV exposure is linked to detrimental health effects with some exposure to UVB wavelengths below 316 nm required for the synthesis of pre-vitamin D(3). The aim of the current research was to investigate the effect of fabric type, color, fit, and wetness on the transmission of pre-vitamin D(3) effective UV through garments during simulated wear, in a high UV exposure environment. Dosimeters fabricated from polysulfone film were positioned at eight selected body sites on the skin surface and clothing surface of identically designed, loose and fitted, black and white T-shirts made up in two knitted fabric types and tested when both dry and when drying after initial wetting (n=3 replicates). The T-shirts were placed on manikins set to simulate humans in the sun between 09:30 and 12:30 Eastern Standard Time during the Southern Hemisphere summer period. The post-exposure absorbance was measured and the dosimeters were calibrated for biologically effective UV for pre-vitamin D(3) synthesis with a UV spectroradiometer. The effect of fit, fabric type, color, and wetness on pre-vitamin D(3) effective UV transmission during simulated wear was assessed. Irradiances varied among body sites with the highest erythemal exposures to a horizontal plane over the 3 h period reaching approximately 14.5 minimal erythema dose (MED) while the highest exposure under the garment was 0.22 MED which may not be above the threshold for pre-vitamin D(3) synthesis for the time period investigated. Fabric and fit were the main variables affecting transmission of pre-vitamin D(3) effective UV. Some interactions were identified between the fabric color and wetness and between fabric type and color; however, while significantly modifying transmission these effects were small. Transmission of pre-vitamin D(3) effective UV occurred through the high UPF knitted fabrics investigated. However, the length of exposure will influence whether the irradiances are sufficient to be above the threshold for pre-vitamin D(3) synthesis. The main effect on transmission of pre-vitamin D(3) effective UV was the fit of the T-shirt and its fabric type (probably structure) rather than color or degree of wetness.

A portable field calibrator for solar ultraviolet measurements

The design of a portable calibrator for solar ultraviolet spectroradiometers is presented. The calibrator is based on a 1 kW DXW lamp mounted in an aluminium housing. The use of changeable adapter plates enables reliable setting of distance with different spectroradiometers. The lamp irradiance is monitored with two filter radiometers at wavelengths of 313 nm and 368 nm. The calibrator has been thoroughly tested in both the laboratory and the field. The results of the field trials indicate that the device works satisfactorily under a wide variety of environmental conditions. The calibrator can be used to establish the shortest possible traceability chain from the national standards laboratory to field measuring instruments.

United States Department of Agriculture reference ultraviolet spectroradiometer: current performance and operational experience at Table Mountain, Colorado

At present the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Reference Spectroradiometric Network consists of three sites: Table Mountain, Colorado, Lamont, Oklahoma (the ARM program SGP site), and Beltsville, Maryland. At each site we deploy and continuously operate a 1-m cascaded additive-double Czerny-Turner scanning monochromator with a bialkali photomultiplier and photon-counting detection. Lambertian fore-optic errors are less than 1% over the range of zenith angles from 0 to 80°. The instruments use photon counting and make measurements at 290 nm not affected by stray light under typical conditions. The basic performance specifications of the instrument were demonstrated by a prototype at the 1997 North-American UV Spectroradiometer Intercomparison. Data shown here demonstrate that these are met in routine operation. The fundamental instrument performance specifications are: Optical resolution: 0.1 nm FWHM, triangular slit-function. Wavelength reproducibility: ′0.0025-nm 2<T with 296-nm Hg retrace-scan corrections applied, ′0.007 nm 2σ over typical diurnal variability, without correction. Wavelength accuracy: Limited by calibration systematic errors. Believed to be 0.005-nm worst case. Stray light: < 10 - 7 at 4 FWHM, 10 - 1 0 at 20 nm, slit-scattering function versus 325 nm HeCd. Angular response: less than 1% error from cosine over the range of zenith angles from 0 to 80°. Signal linearity: The instrument uses a photomultiplier with 2-ns rise-time and photon counting detection. The dual-threshold discriminator has a 700-Mhz synchronous signal counting limit. The maximum counting rates seen at the longest wavelengths are less than 10 MHz; less than 1/5 of the frequency where nonlinearity can be detected, as tested for the 1997 Intercomparison. 2000 was the first full year of operation of our instrument at the NOAA Table Mountain site (140.177 °N 105.276 °W, 1900 m asl) for which the operational and calibration frequencies justify making the data accessible to outside users for scientific application. We show performance in routine operation and issues of calibration over the period April 2000 to 31 December 2001.

The 1997 North American Interagency Intercomparison of Ultraviolet Spectroradiometers Including Narrowband Filter Radiometers.

The fourth North American Intercomparison of Ultraviolet Monitoring Spectroradiometers was held September 15 to 25, 1997 at Table Mountain outside of Boulder, Colorado, USA. Concern over stratospheric ozone depletion has prompted several government agencies in North America to establish networks of spectroradiometers for monitoring solar ultraviolet irradiance at the surface of the Earth. The main purpose of the Intercomparison was to assess the ability of spectroradiometers to accurately measure solar ultraviolet irradiance, and to compare the results between instruments of different monitoring networks. This Intercomparison was coordinated by NIST and NOAA, and included participants from the ASRC, EPA, NIST, NSF, SERC, USDA, and YES. The UV measuring instruments included scanning spectroradiometers, spectrographs, narrow band multi-filter radiometers, and broadband radiometers. Instruments were characterized for wavelength accuracy, bandwidth, stray-light rejection, and spectral irradiance responsivity. The spectral irradiance responsivity was determined two to three times outdoors to assess temporal stability. Synchronized spectral scans of the solar irradiance were performed over several days. Using the spectral irradiance responsivities determined with the NIST traceable standard lamp, and a simple convolution technique with a Gaussian slit-scattering function to account for the different bandwidths of the instruments, the measured solar irradiance from the spectroradiometers excluding the filter radiometers at 16.5 h UTC had a relative standard deviation of ±4 % for wavelengths greater than 305 nm. The relative standard deviation for the solar irradiance at 16.5 h UTC including the filter radiometer was ±4 % for filter functions above 300 nm.

SUSPEN intercomparison of ultraviolet spectroradiometers

Results from an intercomparison campaign of ultraviolet spectroradiometers that was organized at Nea Michaniona, Greece, July 1–13, 1997, are presented. Nineteen instrument systems from 15 different countries took part and provided spectra of global solar UV irradiance for two consecutive days from sunrise to sunset every half hour. No data exchange was allowed between participants in order to achieve absolutely independent results among the instruments. The data analysis procedure included the determination of wavelength shifts and the application of suitable corrections to the measured spectra, their standardization to common spectral resolution of 1 nm full width at half maximum and the application of cosine corrections. Reference spectra were calculated for each observational time, derived for a set of instruments which were objectively selected and used as comparison norms for the assessment of the relative agreement among the various instruments. With regard to the absolute irradiance measurements, the range of the deviations from the reference for all spectra was within ±20%. About half of the instruments agreed to within ±5%, while only three fell outside the ±10% agreement limit. As for the accuracy of the wavelength registration of the recorded spectra, for most of the spectroradiometers (14) the calculated wavelength shifts were smaller than 0.2 nm. The overall outcome of the campaign was very encouraging, as it was proven that the agreement among the majority of the instruments was good and comparable to the commonly accepted uncertainties of spectral UV measurements. In addition, many of the instruments provided consistent results relative to at least the previous two intercomparison campaigns, held in 1995 in Ispra, Italy, and in 1993 in Garmisch‐Partenkirchen, Germany. As a result of this series of intercomparison campaigns, several of the currently operating spectroradiometers operating may be regarded as a core group of instruments, which with the employment of proper operational procedures are capable of providing quality spectral solar UV measurements.

Uncertainty of measurements of spectral solar UV irradiance

Most investigations on the nature and effects of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation at the Earth's surface require measurements of high accuracy combined with well‐defined procedures to assess their quality. Here we present a general evaluation of all relevant errors and uncertainties associated with measurements of spectral global irradiance in the UV. The uncertainties are quantified in terms of dependence of the characteristics of the spectroradiometer, the uncertainty of calibration standards, the solar zenith angle, and atmospheric conditions. The methodologies and equations presented can be applied to most spectroradiometers currently employed for UV research. The sources of error addressed include radiometric calibration, cosine error, spectral resolution, wavelength misalignment, stability, noise, stray light, and timing errors. The practical application of the method is demonstrated by setting up a complete uncertainty table for the mobile spectroradiometer of the Fraunhofer Institute for Atmospheric Environmental Research (IFU). This instrument has successfully participated in several international intercomparisons of UV spectroradiometers. The expanded uncertainty (coverage factor k = 2) for measurements of global spectral irradiance conducted with this instrument varies between 6.3% in the UVA and 12.7% at 300 nm and 60° solar zenith angle. The expanded uncertainties in erythemally and DNA weighted irradiances are 6.1% and 6.6%, respectively. These expanded uncertainties are comparable to uncertainties at the 2σ level in conventional statistics. A substantial reduction of these uncertainties would require smaller uncertainties in the irradiance standards used to calibrate the instrument. Though uncertainties caused by wavelength misalignment and noise become prominent in the shortwave UVB, which is the most important spectral range for UV trend detection, the results indicate that the accuracy of the IFU radiometer is sufficient to detect long‐term trends in UV arising from a 3% change in atmospheric ozone. The detection of trends caused by a 1% change in ozone may be beyond the capabilities of current instrumentation.

Field calibration unit for ultraviolet spectroradiometers

Horizontal standard lamps calibrate the spectral irradiance responsivity of spectroradiometers that measure solar ultraviolet irradiance. A field calibration unit and power supply developed to meet the requirements for using these standards in the field are described and their operation and associated uncertainties are detailed. Results from assessments obtained at two field instrument intercomparisons indicate that the horizontal standard, field calibration unit, and power supply operate within the design tolerances, making them suitable for performing routine calibrations in the field on most ultraviolet spectroradiometers.

Ozone within the El Chichón aerosol cloud inferred from solar backscatter ultraviolet continuous‐scan measurements

Large amounts of SO2 injected into the stratosphere by the El Chichón volcanic eruption greatly enhanced the sulfuric acid aerosol loading. According to laboratory studies, the increase in aerosol surface area would lead to a loss of ozone. Radiation measurements from the solar backscatter ultraviolet spectroradiometer are used to probe the absorbing and scattering properties of the stratosphere after the eruption. The backscattered radiation is enhanced for wavelengths greater than 290 nm, with a peak at about 302 nm. The enhancements associated with aerosol backscattering and ozone change can be separated. A decrease in column ozone of 8 to 30 Dobson units was deduced within the aerosol layer at an altitude between 20 and 30 km following the month of the eruption.