Monitoring UV-B at the earth's surface

High skin cancer rates, stratospheric ozone depletion and increased public interest and concern have resulted in a strong demand for solar ultraviolet radiation measurements and information, The Australian Radiation Laboratory (ARL) has been involved since the mid-1980s in the measurement of solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) using spectroradiometers and a network of broadband detectors at 18 sites in Australia and Antarctica, Measurement locations range from tropical (Darwin, 12.4 degrees S) to polar (Mawson, 67.6 degrees S) and as a result there are many difficulties associated with maintenance and calibration of the network detectors and transfer of data to ensure an accurate and reliable data collection, Calibration procedures for the various detectors involve the comparison with simultaneous spectral measurements using a portable spectroradiometer incorporating a double monochromator, calibrated against traceable standard lamps, Some laboratory measurements of cosine response and responsivity are also made, Detector-datalogger systems are intercompared at the Yallambie site for a number of months before installation at another location, As an additional check on the calibrations, computer models of solar UVR at the earth's surface for days with clear sky and known ozone are compared with the UV radiometer measurements.