Suchergebnisse

Measurement of solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is important for the assessment of potential beneficial and adverse impacts on the biosphere, plants, animals, and humans. Excess solar UVR exposure in humans is associated with skin carcinogenesis and immunosuppression. Several factors influence solar UVR at the Earth's surface, such as latitude and cloud cover. Given the potential risks from solar UVR there is a need to measure solar UVR at different locations using effective instrumentation. Various instruments are available to measure solar UVR, but some are expensive and others are not portable, both restrictive variables for exposure assessments. Here, we compared solar UVR sensors commercialized at low or moderate cost to assess their performance and quality of measurements against a high-grade Bentham spectrometer. The inter-comparison campaign took place between March 2018 and February 2019 at Saint-Denis, La Réunion. Instruments evaluated included a Kipp&Zonen UVS-E-T radiometer, a Solar Light UV-Biometer, a SGLux UV-Cosine radiometer, and a Davis radiometer. Cloud fraction was considered using a SkyCamVision all-sky camera and the Tropospheric Ultraviolet Visible radiative transfer model was used to model clear-sky conditions. Overall, there was good reliability between the instruments over time, except for the Davis radiometer, which showed dependence on solar zenith angle. The Solar Light UV-Biometer and the Kipp&Zonen radiometer gave satisfactory results, while the low-cost SGLux radiometer performed better in clear sky conditions. Future studies should investigate temporal drift and stability over time. ; This research was funded jointly by the CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) and the NRF (National Research Foundation) in the framework of the LIA ARSAIO and by the South Africa/France PROTEA Program (project No 42470VA). UV-Indien program is funded by European Union through the PO INTERREG V, by the Reunion Island Council and by the French Government. OPAR station (Observatoire de Physique de l'Atmosphère de La Réunion), and the OSU-R activities are funded by Université de La Réunion and CNRS.

In order to recognize the importance of ozone (O3) in the troposphere and lower stratosphere in the tropics, a DIAL (differential absorption lidar) tropospheric O3 lidar system (LIO3TUR) was developed and installed at the Université de la Réunion campus site (close to the sea) on Reunion Island (southern tropics) in 1998. From 1998 to 2010, it acquired 427 O3 profiles from the low to the upper troposphere and has been central to several studies. In 2012, the system was moved up to the new Maïdo Observatory facility (2160-l. - metres above mean sea level) where it started operation in February 2013. The current system (LIO3T) configuration generates a 266 beam obtained with the fourth harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser sent into a Raman cell filled up with deuterium (using helium as buffer gas), generating the 289 and 316 beams to enable the use of the DIAL method for O3 profile measurements. The optimal range for the actual system is 6-19ga.m.s.l. depending on the instrumental and atmospheric conditions. For a 1gh integration time, vertical resolution varies from 0.7gkm at 6ga.m.s.l. to 1.3gkm at 19ga.m.s.l. and mean uncertainty within the 6-19gkm range is between 6 and 13g%. Comparisons with eight electrochemical concentration cell (ECC) sondes simultaneously launched from the Maïdo Observatory show good agreement between data sets with a 6.8g% mean absolute relative difference ( D ) between 6 and 17ga.m.s.l. (LIO3T lower than ECC). Comparisons with 37 ECC sondes launched from the nearby Gillot site during the daytime in a ±24gh window around lidar shooting result in a 9.4g% D between 6 and 19ga.m.s.l. (LIO3T lower than ECC). Comparisons with 11 ground-based Network for Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC) Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrometer measurements acquired during the daytime in a ±24gh window around lidar shooting show good agreement between data sets with a D of 11.8g% for the 8.5-16gkm partial column (LIO3T higher than FTIR), and comparisons with 39 simultaneous Infrared Atmospheric ...

Since the nineties, atmospheric measurement systems have been deployed at Reunion Island, mainly for monitoring the atmospheric composition in the framework of NDSC/NDACC (Network for the Detection of Stratospheric Change/Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change). The location of Reunion Island presents a great interest because there are very few multi-instrumented stations in the tropics and particularly in the southern hemisphere. In 2012, a new observatory was commissioned in Maïdo at 2200 m above sea level: it hosts various instruments for atmospheric measurements, including lidar systems, spectro-radiometers and in situ gas and aerosol measurements. This new high-altitude Maïdo station provides an opportunity: 1. to improve the performance of the optical instruments above the marine boundary layer, and to open new perspectives on upper troposphere and lower stratosphere studies; 2. to develop in situ measurements of the atmospheric composition for climate change surveys, in a reference site in the tropical/subtropical region of the southern hemisphere; 3. to offer trans-national access to host experiments or measurement campaigns for focused process studies. © 2013 Author(s). ; SCOPUS: ar.j ; info:eu-repo/semantics/published