European conference on atmospheric UV radiation: overview

Interest in atmospheric ultraviolet radiation (UV) research has increased c onsiderably since the discovery of the Antarctic ozone "hoIe" and after ind ications of the existence of a similar kind of potential in northern high l atitudes. UV measuring and research activities have grown accordingly, incl uding development of new instruments, improvement in quality assurance/qual ity control methodologies, as well as development of models. Modeling metho dologies have been applied for development of spaceborne techniques for est imating the global distribution of solar UV radiation. The European Confere nce on Atmospheric UV Radiation (ECUV), which was held on June 28 to July 2 , 1998 in Helsinki, Finland, brought together 160 scientists from all parts of the world. The Journal of Geophysical Research (JGR) ECUV special issue summarizes 32 papers presented at the conference. New UV trend analyses ba sed on spectral and broadband measurements and modeled UV data for the most recent decades indicate increases of UV-B radiation in various parts of Eu rope. Additional observational and modeled information on the impact of clo udiness, total ozone, ozone profiles, aerosols, and albedo on ground level UV irradiance has been gathered. The regional UV albedo has been studied ov er snow-covered surfaces, vegetation, and sea areas by aircraft-based, grou nd-based, and modeled methods. Further instrument development, improved QA/ QC practices, and the application of data correction methods have already t aken place but are also clearly needed in the future. Different methods for estimating UV irradiance using spaceborne information have been developed. Additional efforts to improve our understanding of the impact of cloudines s, albedo, and aerosol on UV are expected to improve spaceborne UV retrieva ls in the future. In Europe the European Commission and national funding ag encies have been supporting research projects aimed at understanding the UV climatology in Europe through UV instrument development and intercompariso ns, UV database establishment, and UV process, trend, and scenario studies.