title: A European satellite-derived UV climatology available for impact studies.
abstract: This paper presents a satellite-derived climatology of the surface UV radiation, intended to support impact studies on the environment and human health. As of today, the dataset covers the period from 1 January 1984 to 31 August 2003, with daily dose maps covering Europe with a spatial resolution of 0.05 degrees. A comparison between the modelled erythemal daily dose and measurements in Ispra yields an r.m.s. value with a relative difference of 29% and a bias of 3%. The seemingly large dispersion is, however, due to a restricted number of days for which the relative difference is very high. The climatological dataset documents systematic patterns in the geographical distribution of the surface UV radiation due to cloudiness, altitude and snow. It also shows a large year-to-year variability in monthly doses of upto +/-50% in spring and +/-30% in summer.
authors.affiliation: European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Via E. Fermi 1, 21020 Ispra (VA), Italy. jean.verdebout@irc.it
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Verdebout
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D002980:Climate; D016208:Databases, Factual; D004777:Environment; D005060:Europe; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D011829:Radiation Dosage; D011834:Radiation Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D011874:Radiometry / Q000379:methods*; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D012993:Solar Energy; D018531:Spacecraft; D019371:Topography, Medical / Q000379:methods*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays