Impact of UV-A radiation on erythemal UV and UV-index estimation over Korea

Because total UV(TUV) in the UV-A region is 100 times higher than in the UV-B region,UV-A is a considerable component when calculating erythemal UV(EUV) and UV-index.The ratio of EUV to TUV in the UV-A value [EUV(A)/TUV(A)]is investigated to convert the EUV(A) from TUV(A) for broadband observation. The representative value of EUV(A)/TUV(A),from the simulation study,is 6.9 × 10-4,changing from 6.1 × 10-4to 7.0 × 10-4as aerosol optical depth,total ozone and solar zenith angle change. By adopting the observational data of EUV(B) and TUV(A) from UV-biometer measurements at Yonsei University [(37.57?N,126.95?E),84 m above sea level],the EUV irradiance increases to 15% of EUV(B) due to the consideration of EUV(A) from the data of TUV(A) observation. Compared to the total EUV observed from the Brewer spectrophotometer at the same site,the EUV(B) from the UV-biometer observes only 95% of total EUV,and its underestimation is caused by neglecting the effect of UV-A. However,the sum of EUV(B) and EUV(A) [EUV(A+B)] from two UV-biometers is 10% larger than the EUV from the Brewer spectrophotometer because of the spectral overlap effect in the range 320–340nm. The correction factor for the overlap effect adjusts 8% of total EUV.