Determination of radiation amplification factor of atmospheric aerosol from the surface UV irradiance measurement at Gwangju, Korea

Summary This study investigated the impact of atmospheric aerosols on surface ultraviolet (UV) irradiance at Gwangju, Korea (35°13′N, 126°50′E). Data analyzed included surface UV irradiance measured by UV radiometers from June 1998 to April 2001 and the aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the visible range determined from a rotating shadow-band radiometer (RSR). The radiation amplification factor (RAF) of ozone for UV-B (280–315 nm) at Gwangju was 1.32–1.62. Values of the RAF of aerosols (RAF_AOD) for UV-A and UV-B were 0.18–0.20 and 0.22–0.26, respectively. Authors’ addresses: Jeong Eun Kim, Advanced Environmental Monitoring Research Center (ADEMRC), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA); Seong Yoon Ryu, Advanced Environmental Monitoring Research Center (ADEMRC), Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and Division of Metrology, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science (KRISS); Young Joon Kim, Advanced Environmental Monitoring Research Center (ADEMRC) Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 1 Oryong-dong, Buk-gu, Gwangju 500-712, Republic of Korea.