Altitude effect in UV radiation

The Research Group of Meteorology and Geophysics belonging to the University of Barcelona has just published an interesting paper in JGR. This article analyses the altitude effect (AE) for UV irradiance under cloudless conditions by taking spectral and broadband measurements in SE Spain at three nearby sites located at different heights (680 m, 2200 m, and 3398 m). The study was within The Evaluation of the Effects of Elevation and Aerosols on the Ultraviolet Radiation 2002 (VELETA-2002) field campaign. The AE for erythemally weighted irradiance ranged from 11 to 14% km−1between the lowest and highest stations when it was calculated from spectral measurements. Saharan dust caused an increase in AE, especially in the UVB region and in the erythemal irradiance.