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Detailed Reference Information |
Schafer, J.S., Saxena, V.K., Wenny, B.N., Barnard, W. and De Luisi, J.J. (1996). Observed influence of clouds on ultraviolet-B radiation. Geophysical Research Letters 23: doi: 10.1029/96GL01984. issn: 0094-8276. |
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A Brewer Spectrophotometer was utilized to make ground-based measurements of solar ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation received at Black Mountain, NC (35.66 ¿N) in order to quantify the reduction of UV-B due to cloud cover. Observations were made over the interval February-July 1995 with continuous coverage except for a three-week period in May. A wide-angle lens video camera at the site was used for the assessment of cloud conditions at the time of each scan. Integrated UV-B (290--320 nm) values were evaluated and a regression through the values for clear conditions was produced for the range of zenith angles from 25¿--70¿. This regression effectively represents an average effect of the ambient aerosols and attenuating gases and was used to normalize the UV-B values measured under different cloud cover amounts, providing an estimate of the reduction in irradiance due to a given cloud amount as a function of solar zenith angle. For a solar zenith angle of 50¿, average UV-B transmission was observed to be 30% for overcast skies, 61% for 8--9 tenths cloud cover, 74% for 6--7 tenths cover, and 79% for the scans during 4--5 tenths cover. A number of fractional cloud cover cases were observed where cloud reflections resulted in measured surface irradiances exceeding the expected clear sky values by as much as 11 percent. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1996 |
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BACKGROUND DATA FILES |
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Abstract |
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Keywords
Atmospheric Composition and Structure, Transmission and scattering of radiation |
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Publisher
American Geophysical Union 2000 Florida Avenue N.W. Washington, D.C. 20009-1277 USA 1-202-462-6900 1-202-328-0566 service@agu.org |
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