Ultraviolet radiation climatology of the Earth`s surface and lower atmosphere. Final report

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation is the driving force of tropospheric chemistry and is furthermore detrimental to most living tissues. A three year modeling program was carried out to characterize the UV radiation in the lower atmosphere, with the objective of development a climatology of UV biologically active radiation, and of photo-dissociation reaction rates that are key to tropospheric chemistry. A comprehensive model, the Tropospheric Ultraviolet-Visible (TUV) model, was developed and made available to the scientific community. The model incorporates updated spectroscopic data, recent advances in radiative transfer theory, and allows flexible customization for the needs of different users. The TUV model has been used in conjunction with satellite-derived measurements of total atmospheric ozone and cloud amount, to develop a global climatology of UV radiation reaching the surface of the Earth. Initial validation studies are highly encouraging, showing that model predictions agree with direct measurements to ca. 5--10% at times when environmental conditions are well known, and to 10--30% for monthly averages when local environmental conditions can only be estimated remotely from satellite-based measurements. Additional validation studies are continuing