Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics www.atmos-chem-phys.net 1680-7316 1680-7324 8 24 2008 10.5194/acp-8-7483-2008 http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/7483/2008/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/7483/2008/acp-8-7483-2008.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/8/7483/2008/acp-8-7483-2008.pdf 7483 7491 2008-12-16 A method to generate near real time UV-Index maps of Austria B. Schallhart barbara.schallhart@i-med.ac.at M. Blumthaler J. Schreder J. Verdebout Division of Biomedical Physics, Innsbruck Medical University, Muellerstrasse 44, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria CMS Ing.Dr.Schreder GmbH, Eggerstrasse 8, 6322 Kirchbichl, Austria European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Institute for Health and Consumer Protection, Via E. Fermi 1, 21020 Ispra (VA), Italy A method is presented that combines individual ground based ultraviolet (UV) measurements and satellite data from MSG (Meteosat Second Generation) to generate a UV-Index map all over the region of Austria. Cloud modification factors (CMFs) gathered from satellite images give an area wide information of the cloud situation but compared to ground based measurements significant discrepancies have been found. These discrepancies are especially large for high mountain stations but also for low altitude sites differences between satellite derived and ground based data in the order of 15% have been found. To overcome these discrepancies a correction procedure based on the correlation of both data sets at the pixel of the measurement stations is developed. The uncertainty of the final UV-Index map is evaluated exemplarily for the pixel of the measurement sites Bad Vöslau and München by eliminating the information of both sites from the UV-Index map generation process and comparing afterwards calculated and measured results. More than 5000 maps for all weather conditions have been evaluated leading to a mean agreement of 1.02 (standard deviation ±0.31, Bad Vöslau) and 1.01 (standard deviation ±0.34, München) between calculated and measured UV-Indexes. Bais, A., Topaloglou, C., Kazadtzis, S., Blumthaler, M., Schreder, J., Schmalwieser, A., Henriques, D., and Janouch, M.: Report of the LAP/COST/WMO intercomparison of erythemal radiometers, World Meteorological Organization-Global Atmosphere Watch, Geneva, Switzerland, Rep No 141, 2000. Blumthaler, M.: Quality assurance and quality control methodologies within the Austrian UV monitoring network, Rad. Prot. Dos., 111(4), 359–362, 2004. Engelsen O. and Kylling A.: Fast simulation tool for ultraviolet radiation at the Earth's surface, Opt. Eng., 44(4), 041012, doi:10.1117/12.639087, 2005. EUMETSAT: MSG Ground Segment LRIT/HRIT Mission Specific Implementation, EUM/MSG/SPE/057, 5, 2005. Gröbner, J., Hülsen, G., Vuilleumier, G., Blumthaler, M., Vilaplana, J. M., Walker, D., and Gil, J. E.: Report of the PMOD/WRC-COST calibration and intercomparison of erythemal radiometers, ftp.pmodwrc.ch/pub/publications/PMOD_COST726_BBreport.pdf, 2008. Krige, D. G.: Lognormal-de Wijsian Geostatistics for Ore Evaluation, South African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy Monograph Series, Geostatistics, 1, 51 pp., 1981. Leszczynski, K., Jokela, K., Ylianttila, L., Visuri, R., and Blumthaler, M.: Erythemally weighted radiometers in solar UV monitoring: results from MWO/STUK intercomparison, Photochem. Photobiol., 67, 212–221, 1998. Mayer, B. and Kylling, A.: Technical note: The libRadtran software package for radiative transfer calculations - description and examples of use, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 5, 1855–1877, 2005. Schmalwieser, A. W. and Schauberger, G.: A monitoring network for erythemally-effective solar ultraviolet radiation in Austria: determination of the measuring sites and visualisation of the spatial distribution, Theor. Appl. Climatol., 69(3), 221–229, doi:10.1007/s007040170027, 2001. Verdebout, J.: A method to generate surface UV radiation maps over Europe using GOME, Meteosat, and ancillary geophysical data, J. Geophys. Res., 105(D4), 5049–5058, 2000. Verdebout, J.: A European satellite-derived UV climatology available for impact studies, Radiat. Prot. Dosim., 111(4), 407–411, doi:10.1093/rpd/nch063, 2004. Verdebout, J. and Gröbner, J.: Mapping natural surface UV radiation with MSG: first maps and comparison with METEOSAT derived results and reference measurements, in: Proceedings of the EUMETSAT Meteorological Satellite Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, 31 May–4 June 2004, 558 pp., 2004 World Health Organization: Global Solar UV Index: A Practical Guide, WHO, ISBN 92 4 159007 6, Geneva, 2002.