An Expanded UV Irradiance Database from TOMS Including the Effects of Ozone, Clouds, and Aerosol Attenuation

The TOMS UV irradiance database (1978 to 2003) has been expanded to include five new products (noon irradiance at 305,310,324, and 380 nm, and noon erythemal-weighted irradiance), in addition to the existing erythemal daily exposure, that permit direct comparisons with ground-based measurements from spectrometers and broadband instruments. The new data are available on http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/>http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov. Comparisons of the TOMS estimated irradiances with ground-based instruments are given along with a review of the sources of known errors, especially the recent improvements in accounting for aerosol attenuation. Trend estimations from the new TOMS irradiances permit the clear separation of changes caused by ozone and those caused by aerosols and clouds. Systematic differences in cloud cover are shown to be the most important factor in determining regional differences in UV radiation reaching the ground for locations at the same latitude (e.g., the summertime differences between Australia and the US southwest).