Ground-based ultraviolet-radiation measurements during springtime in the Southern hemisphere

Abstract

We report the first measurements obtained by a network of UV-B detectors established through Argentina and Chile, at locations covering latitudes extending from 53°S to 18° S. Evidence that UVB increases are detected at these latitudes during the Austral spring 1993 is presented. The destruction of the stratospheric ozone layer is generally considered one of the most serious environmental problems. It has been recently published that during October 1998 the ozone hole has been the deepest ever recorded. Reduction of the stratospheric ozone layer was un ambiguously detected about two decades ago in the Antarctic continent. Since then it has been systematically monitored by different means (satellite, balloon soundings and ground station observations. One of the most serious content reduction is the increase of biologically effective ultraviolet doses, particularly the so-called ultraviolet B radiation (280-320 nm) received at the Earth surface, with multiple possible hazards for living species. Despite these consequences, ground stations to check the UV Sun radiation are not very numerous, particularly outside the circumpolar area in the Southern Hemisphere. With the aim of studying whether the ozone depletion over the Antarctic area has extended further, and whether the possibility that UV radiation increase may begin to affect inhabited regions, a network of UVB detectors has been established through Argentina and Chile, at locations covering latitudes extending from 53°S to 18° S. Here we report the first measurements obtained by this network providing evidence that UVB increases are detected at these latitudes during the last Austral spring.