Incident surface irradiance of photosynthetically available radiation (PAR)
, and ultraviolet radiation (UV-A and UV-B) was monitored during the GAP Wo
rkshop (8-15 September 1999) at the field stations Kastanienbaum at Lake Lu
cerne (434 m a.s.l.) and Piora at Lake Cadagno (1923 m a.s.l.), Switzerland
, with broad band sensors (LiCOR and Macam) and multifilter spectral radiom
eters (Smithsonian UV-B radiometer SR18, Satlantic and Biospherical Profile
rs). Calculations of clear sky spectral irradiance were performed using com
puter implementations of atmospheric radiative transfer models STAR and FAS
TRT as well as a simple two-stream model. Clear sky conditions prevailed at
Lucerne so that detailed comparisons could be made between measured irradi
ance and model predictions. Good correspondence was found for the measureme
nts and predictions. The best agreement was with the STAR model. Spectral m
easurements were consistent with measurements of the broad band UV-A and UV
-B sensors after accounting for the manufacturer specified spectral respons
e. The effective center wavelength of the broad band UV-B sensor is 320 nm,
despite the fact that the maximum sensitivity of the sensor is at 310 nm.
A daily UV index was estimated from the midday SR18 data. An analysis of th
e UV-A and UV-B data at the two sites of different altitude indicates that
the so called altitude effect (AE) is variable during the course of the day
and usually higher for UV-B than for UV-A. Lakes Lucerne and Cadagno have
moderate transparency to UV and PAR with 50% of 320 nm irradiance penetrati
ng to 1 m in Lake Lucerne and 0.3 m in Lake Cadagno.