15th Conf on Biometeorology and Aerobiology and the 16th International Congress of Biometeorology

Monday, 28 October 2002: 2:30 PM
Effect of Brewer Spectrophotometer internal temperature on the measured solar UV spectrum
Thomas E. Taylor, National Ultraviolet Monitoring Center, University of Georgia, Athens, GA; and M. G. Kimlin
A network of Brewer Spectrophotometers, owned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and operated by the National Ultraviolet Monitoring Center, University of Georgia, is measuring UV spectral irradiances throughout the United States. The Brewer Spectrophotometer has no means of internal temperature regulation and stabilization, therefore the instrument operates at ambient environmental temperatures which fluctuate both diurnally and seasonally. It has been observed that the instrument's spectral responsivity is significantly sensitive to changes in the internal instrument temperature. A series of laboratory and field based experiments were conducted to determine the temperature dependence of each Brewer instrument's spectral response. The temperature dependence data is applied to collected solar UV spectra and the effect of the temperature on the measured UV spectrum is reported.

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