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Attempts to probe the ozone layer and the ultraviolet-B levels of the past

Björn, Lars Olof LU orcid and McKenzie, Richard L. (2007) In Ambio: a Journal of the Human Environment 36(5). p.366-371
Abstract
To get a proper perspective on the current status of atmospheric ozone, which protects the biosphere from ultraviolet-B (UV-B; 280-315 nm) radiation, it would be of value to know how ozone and UV-13 radiation have varied in the past. The record of worldwide ozone monitoring goes back only a few decades, and the record of reliable UV-13 measurements is even shorter. Here we review indirect methods to assess their status further back in time. These include variations in the Sun's emission and how these affect the atmosphere, changes in the Earth's orbit, geologic imprints of atmospheric ozone, effects of catastrophic events such as volcanic eruptions, biological proxies of UV-13 radiation, the spectral signature of terrestrial ozone in old... (More)
To get a proper perspective on the current status of atmospheric ozone, which protects the biosphere from ultraviolet-B (UV-B; 280-315 nm) radiation, it would be of value to know how ozone and UV-13 radiation have varied in the past. The record of worldwide ozone monitoring goes back only a few decades, and the record of reliable UV-13 measurements is even shorter. Here we review indirect methods to assess their status further back in time. These include variations in the Sun's emission and how these affect the atmosphere, changes in the Earth's orbit, geologic imprints of atmospheric ozone, effects of catastrophic events such as volcanic eruptions, biological proxies of UV-13 radiation, the spectral signature of terrestrial ozone in old recordings of star spectra, and the modeling of UV-B irradiance from ozone data and meteorological recordings. Although reliable reconstructions do not yet extend far into the past, there is some hope for future progress. (Less)
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author
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organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Ambio: a Journal of the Human Environment
volume
36
issue
5
pages
366 - 371
publisher
Springer
external identifiers
  • wos:000248512700002
  • scopus:34548262365
ISSN
0044-7447
DOI
10.1579/0044-7447
project
Photobiology
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
304e7a69-5522-4d91-acf5-90f5bc785698 (old id 656819)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 16:41:56
date last changed
2024-01-11 13:01:02
@article{304e7a69-5522-4d91-acf5-90f5bc785698,
  abstract     = {{To get a proper perspective on the current status of atmospheric ozone, which protects the biosphere from ultraviolet-B (UV-B; 280-315 nm) radiation, it would be of value to know how ozone and UV-13 radiation have varied in the past. The record of worldwide ozone monitoring goes back only a few decades, and the record of reliable UV-13 measurements is even shorter. Here we review indirect methods to assess their status further back in time. These include variations in the Sun's emission and how these affect the atmosphere, changes in the Earth's orbit, geologic imprints of atmospheric ozone, effects of catastrophic events such as volcanic eruptions, biological proxies of UV-13 radiation, the spectral signature of terrestrial ozone in old recordings of star spectra, and the modeling of UV-B irradiance from ozone data and meteorological recordings. Although reliable reconstructions do not yet extend far into the past, there is some hope for future progress.}},
  author       = {{Björn, Lars Olof and McKenzie, Richard L.}},
  issn         = {{0044-7447}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{5}},
  pages        = {{366--371}},
  publisher    = {{Springer}},
  series       = {{Ambio: a Journal of the Human Environment}},
  title        = {{Attempts to probe the ozone layer and the ultraviolet-B levels of the past}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1579/0044-7447}},
  doi          = {{10.1579/0044-7447}},
  volume       = {{36}},
  year         = {{2007}},
}