2014/03/05 by Raúl R. Cordero, Alessandro Damiani, Jorge Ferrer +5 · 1 voice · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Environmental Science · #Atmospheric Ozone and Climate #Cryospheric studies and observations #Polar Research and Ecology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0090705
openalex publication_date 2014/03/05 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
We report on the first spectral measurements of ultraviolet (UV) irradiance and the albedo at a Camp located in the southern Ellsworth Mountains on the broad expanse of Union Glacier (700 m altitude, 79° 46' S; 82° 52'W); about 1,000 km from the South Pole. The measurements were carried out by using a double monochromator-based spectroradiometer during a campaign (in December 2012) meant to weight up the effect of the local albedo on the UV irradiance. We found that the albedo measured at noon was about 0.95 in the UV and the visible part of the spectrum. This high surface reflectivity led to enhancements in the UV index under cloudless conditions of about 50% in comparison with snow free surfaces. Spectral measurements carried out elsewhere as well as estimates retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) were used for further comparisons.