ELDONET—A Decade of Monitoring Solar Radiation on Five Continents

Abstract

The European light dosimeter network (ELDONET) comprisesmore than 40 stations in 24 countries on 5 continents. Thepresent report compares solar radiation data in the photosyntheticactive radiation, UV-A (315–400 nm) and UV-B (280–315 nm) wavelength ranges for 17 stations at different latitudeson the northern and southern hemispheres for up to 10 years ofmonitoring. While the maximal irradiances on clear days followa latitudinal gradient due to the cosine dependence on the solarangle, the total doses strongly depend on the local climate andatmospheric conditions as well as the day-length distribution overthe year. UV-B irradiances and doses are strongly influenced bythe total column ozone, which is recorded for all covered stations.