UV irradiance and albedo at Union Glacier Camp (Antarctica): a case study.

We report on the first spectral measurements of ultraviolet (UV) irradiance and the albedo at a Camp located in the southern Ellsworth Mountains on the broad expanse of Union Glacier (700 m altitude, 79° 46' S; 82° 52'W); about 1,000 km from the South Pole. The measurements were carried out by using a double monochromator-based spectroradiometer during a campaign (in December 2012) meant to weight up the effect of the local albedo on the UV irradiance. We found that the albedo measured at noon was about 0.95 in the UV and the visible part of the spectrum. This high surface reflectivity led to enhancements in the UV index under cloudless conditions of about 50% in comparison with snow free surfaces. Spectral measurements carried out elsewhere as well as estimates retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) were used for further comparisons.

The world's highest levels of surface UV.

Chile's northern Atacama Desert has been pointed out as one of the places on earth where the world's highest surface ultraviolet (UV) may occur. This area is characterized by its high altitude, prevalent cloudless conditions and relatively low total ozone column. Aimed at detecting those peak UV levels, we carried out in January 2013 ground-based spectral measurements on the Chajnantor Plateau (5100 m altitude, 23°00'S, 67°45'W) and at the Paranal Observatory (2635 m altitude, 24°37'S, 70°24'W). The UV index computed from our spectral measurements peaked at 20 on the Chajnantor Plateau (under broken cloud conditions) and at 16 at the Paranal Observatory (under cloudless conditions). Spectral measurements carried out in June 2005 at the Izaña Observatory (2367 m altitude, 28°18'N, 16°30'W) were used for further comparisons. Due to the differences in sun-earth separation, total ozone column, altitude, albedo, aerosols and clouds, peak UV levels are expected to be significantly higher at southern hemisphere sites than at their northern hemisphere counterparts.

Downwelling and upwelling radiance distributions sampled under cloudless conditions in Antarctica.

We have sampled both the downwelling and upwelling radiance distributions at a camp located in the southern Ellsworth Mountains on the broad expanse of Union Glacier (700 m altitude, 79° 46' S, 82° 52' W). The measurements (at 320-440 nm wavelength range) were carried out under cloudless conditions by using a sky scanner system, during a campaign (in December, 2012) meant to assess the effects of the high albedo on the radiance distribution. The angular variations observed in both the downwelling and upwelling radiance distributions increase with the wavelength. However, these variations were considerably greater in the case of the downwelling radiance than in the case of the upwelling radiance. Indeed, we found that downwelling radiance tends to be less isotropic than the corresponding upwelling radiance. Regardless of the solar zenith angle and the wavelength, the minima of the downwelling and the upwelling radiance distributions were measured close to the zenith and to the nadir, respectively. The downwelling (upwelling) radiance increased nearly monotonically toward the horizon and peaked at zenith (nadir) angles that ranged from 75° to 90°. Comparisons with the UVSPEC radiative transfer model were used to weight up the response of the downwelling radiance distribution to changes in the albedo.