Effect of Aerosol on UV Radiation: An Overview

摘要

One of the key components in understanding how global climate change effects the biological environment on Earth is determining how the amount of UV radiation reaching the surface has changed in response. In order to accurately quantify such changes, the role of tropospheric aerosols in both changing the amount of UV surface radiation and affecting the measurement of such radiation must be better understood. In this paper we will provide an overview on our current understanding of troposheric aerosols and their effect on UV radiation. We will also describe how such aerosols are taken into account when trying to measure the UV surface radiation, and we will show how the diurnal variability of tropospheric aerosols lead to significant errors in determining UV surface radiation from space measurements. Finally, we will describe how measurement from future sensors launched into orbit other than those low to the Earth can reduce such errors.