Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T03:15:21.527Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The ultraviolet radiation environment during an expedition across the Drake Passage and on the Antarctic Peninsula

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 December 2014

Andrew Russell Open the ORCID record for Andrew Russell [Opens in a new window] ,
Manmohan Gohlan ,
Andrew Smedley  and
Martin Densham
Andrew Russell*
Affiliation:
Institute of Environment, Health and Societies, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, UK
Manmohan Gohlan
Affiliation:
Institute of Environment, Health and Societies, Brunel University London, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, Middlesex UB8 3PH, UK
Andrew Smedley
Affiliation:
Centre for Atmospheric Science, University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
Martin Densham
Affiliation:
British Services Antarctic Expedition, Northwood, Middlesex HA6 3HP, UK
*
andrew.russell@brunel.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Polysulphone ultraviolet dosimetry badges were deployed daily during a British Services Antarctic Expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula, including a cruise period across the Drake Passage. The expedition was undertaken from 20 December 2011 to 7 March 2012. Badges were successfully analysed from 46 days of the expedition with a daily mean of 1.8 kJ m-2 erythemal daily dose (EDD) and a range of 0.3–4.3 kJ m-2 EDD. The results indicate that the ultraviolet EDD experienced was comparable to temperate, mid-latitude locations in the spring/late summer. The variability of the badge measurements was mostly consistent with observations from a local ground-based radiometer and equivalent satellite-derived products. However, such comparisons are limited by the changing location/altitude of the expedition and known biases in the satellite data. This highlights that the new dataset of exposure experienced at the Antarctic surface complements those produced by stationary ground-based instruments or satellites and, therefore, that the badge dataset brings a new element to this issue. The highest EDD values during the expedition occurred at high altitude, and the lowest EDD values occurred at low altitude and high latitude with relatively high total ozone column concentration.

Keywords

Avery PlateauBSAE 2012climate changeLoubet Coastozone depletionUV dosimetryUV erythemal daily dose
Type
Physical Sciences
Information
Antarctic Science , Volume 27 , Issue 3 , June 2015 , pp. 307 - 316
Check for updates
Copyright
© Antarctic Science Ltd 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ban, S., Ohi, N., Leong, S.C.Y., Takahashi, K.T., Riser, C.W. & Taguchi, S. 2007. Effect of solar ultraviolet radiation on survival of krill larvae and copepods in Antarctic Ocean. Polar Biology, 30, 1295–1302.Google Scholar
Bernhard, G., Booth, C.R. & Ehramjian, J.C. 2005. UV climatology at Palmer Station, Antarctica, based on Version 2 NSF network data. Proceedings of SPIE, 5886, 10.1117/12.614172.Google Scholar
Cockell, C.S., Horneck, G., Rettberg, P., Arendt, J., Scherer, K., Facius, R. & Gugg-Helminger, A. 2002. Human exposure to ultraviolet radiation at the Antipodes – a comparison between an Antarctic (67°S) and Arctic (75°N) location. Polar Biology, 25, 492–499.Google Scholar
Diffey, B.L. 1989. Ultraviolet radiation dosimetry with polysulphone film. In Diffey, B.L., ed. Radiation measurement in photobiology. London: Academic press, 135–159.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erdmann, F., Lortet-Tieulent, J., Schüz, J., Zeeb, H., Greinert, R., Breitbart, E.W. & Bray, F. 2013. International trends in the incidence of malignant melanoma 1953–2008: are recent generations at higher or lower risk? International Journal of Cancer, 132, 385–400.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Farman, J.C., Gardiner, B.G. & Shanklin, J.D. 1985. Large losses of total ozone in Antarctica reveal seasonal ClOx/NOx interaction. Nature, 315, 207–210.Google Scholar
Leiter, U. & Garbe, C. 2008. Epidemiology of melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancer – the role of sunlight. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 624, 89–103.Google Scholar
Geiss, O., Gröbner, J. & Rembges, D. 2003. Manual for polysulphone dosimeters: characterisation, handling and application as personal UV exposure devices. EUR 20981 EN. Ispra: European Commission Joint Research Centre, 31 pp.Google Scholar
Gies, P., Watzl, R., Javorniczky, J., Roy, C., Henderson, S., Ayton, J. & Kingston, M. 2009. Measurement of the UVR exposures of expeditioners on Antarctic resupply voyages. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 85, 1485–1490.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gies, P., Klekociuk, A., Tully, M., Henderson, S., Javorniczky, J., King, K., Lemus-Deschamps, L. & Makin, J. 2013. Low ozone over Southern Australia in August 2011 and its impact on solar ultraviolet radiation levels. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 89, 984–994.Google Scholar
Gutiérrez-Marco, E., Hernández, E., Camacho, J.L. & Labajo, A. 2007. Analysis of UVB values in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula. Atmospheric Research, 84, 345–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iuliano-Burns, S., Wang, X.F., Ayton, J., Jones, G. & Seeman, E. 2009. Skeletal and hormonal responses to sunlight deprivation in Antarctic expeditioners. Osteoporosis International, 20, 1523–1528.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
IPCC. 2013. Climate change 2013: the physical science basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press, 1535 pp.Google Scholar
Joughin, I., Smith, B.E. & Medley, B. 2014. Marine ice sheet collapse potentially under way for the Thwaites Glacier basin, West Antarctica. Science, 344, 735–738.Google Scholar
Karentz, D. 1991. Ecological considerations of Antarctic ozone depletion. Antarctic Science, 3, 3–11.Google Scholar
Korhonen, H., Carslaw, K.S., Forster, P.M., Mikkonen, S., Gordon, N.D. & Kokkola, H. 2010. Aerosol climate feedback due to decadal increases in Southern Hemisphere wind speeds. Geophysical Research Letters, 37, 10.1029/2009GL041320.Google Scholar
Lamare, M.D., Barker, M.F. & Lesser, M.P. 2007. In situ rates of DNA damage and abnormal development in Antarctic and non-Antarctic sea urchin embryos. Aquatic Biology, 1, 21–32.Google Scholar
MacLennan, R., Green, A.C., McLeod, G.R.C. & Martin, N.G. 1992. Increasing incidence of cutaneous melanoma in Queensland, Australia. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 84, 1427–1432.Google Scholar
Malloy, K.D., Holman, M. A., Mitchell, D. & Detrich, H. W. 1997. Solar UVB-induced DNA damage and photoenzymatic DNA repair in Antarctic zooplankton. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 94, 1258–1263.Google Scholar
Mantis, H.T., Repapis, C.C., Philandras, C.M., Paliatsos, A.G., Zerefos, C.S., Bais, A.F., Meleti, C. & Balis, D.S. 2000. A 5-year climatology of the solar erythemal ultraviolet in Athens, Greece. International Journal of Climatology, 20, 1237–1247.Google Scholar
Mayewski, P.A., Meredith, M.P., Summerhayes, C.P., Turner, J., Worby, A., Barrett, P.J., Casassa, G., Bertler, N.A.N., Bracegirdle, T., Garabato, A.C.N., Bromwich, D., Campbell, H., Hamilton, G.S., Lyons, W.B., Maasch, K.A., Aoki, S., Xiao, C. & van Ommen, T. 2009. State of the Antarctic and Southern Ocean climate system. Reviews of Geophysics, 47, 10.1029/2007RG000231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer-Rochow, V.B. 2000. Risks, especially for the eye, emanating from the rise of solar UV radiation in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. International Journal of Circumpolar Health, 59, 38–51.Google ScholarPubMed
Pakulski, J.D., Kase, J.P., Meador, J.A. & Jeffrey, W.H. 2008. Effect of stratospheric ozone depletion and enhanced ultraviolet radiation on marine bacteria at Palmer Station, Antarctica in the early austral spring. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 84, 215–221.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Post, A. & Larkum, A.W.D. 1993. UV-absorbing pigments, photosynthesis and UV exposure in Antarctica: comparison of terrestrial and marine algae. Aquatic Botany, 45, 231–243.Google Scholar
Rignot, E., Mouginot, J., Morlighem, M., Seroussi, H. & Scheuchl, B. 2014. Widespread, rapid grounding line retreat of Pine Island, Thwaites, Smith, and Kohler glaciers, West Antarctica, from 1992 to 2011. Geophysical Research Letters, 41, 3502–3509.Google Scholar
Roy, C.R., Gies, H.P., Tomlinson, D.W. & Lugg, D.L. 1994. Effects of ozone depletion on the ultraviolet radiation environment at the Australian stations in Antarctica. Antarctic Research Series, 62, 1–15.Google Scholar
Russell, A. & McGregor, G.R. 2010. Southern hemisphere atmospheric circulation: impacts on Antarctic climate and reconstructions from Antarctic ice core data. Climatic Change, 99, 155–192.Google Scholar
Sabburg, J.M. & Parisi, A.V. 2006. Spectral dependency of cloud enhanced UV irradiance. Atmospheric Research, 81, 206–214.Google Scholar
Salby, M., Titova, E. & Deschamps, L. 2011. Rebound of Antarctic ozone. Geophysical Research Letters, 38, 10.1029/2011GL047266.Google Scholar
Smith, R.C., Prézelin, B.B., Baker, K.S., Bidigare, R.R., Boucher, N.P., Coley, T., Karentz, D., MacIntyre, S., Matlick, H.A., Menzies, D., Ondrusek, M., Wan, Z. & Waters, K.J. 1992. Ozone depletion: ultraviolet radiation and phytoplankton biology in Antarctic waters. Science, 255, 952–959.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tanskanen, A., Lindfors, A., Määttä, A., Krotkov, N., Herman, J., Kaurola, J., Koskela, T., Lakkala, K., Fioletov, V., Bernhard, G., McKenzie, R., Kondo, Y., O’Neill, M., Slaper, H., den Outer, P., Bais, A.F. & Tamminen, J. 2007. Validation of daily erythemal doses from ozone monitoring instrument with ground-based UV measurement data. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 112, 10.1029/2007JD008830.Google Scholar
Thacher, T.D. & Clarke, B.L. 2011. Vitamin D insufficiency. Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 86, 50–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Watanabe, S., Sudo, K., Nagashima, T., Takemura, T., Kawase, H. & Nozawa, T. 2011. Future projections of surface UV‐B in a changing climate. Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres, 116, 10.1029/2011JD015749.Google Scholar
Webb, A.R. & Engelsen, O. 2006. Calculated ultraviolet exposure levels for a healthy vitamin D status. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 82, 1697–1703.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Webb, A.R., Kift, R., Berry, J.L. & Rhodes, L.E. 2011. The vitamin D debate: translating controlled experiments into reality for human sun exposure times. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 87, 741–745.Google Scholar
Webb, A.R., Kift, R., Durkin, M.T., O’Brien, S.J., Vail, A., Berry, J.L. & Rhodes, L.E. 2010. The role of sunlight exposure in determining the vitamin D status of the U.K. white adult population. British Journal of Dermatology, 163, 1050–1055.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
WHO. 1994. Environmental Health Criteria (EHC) 160 – ultraviolet radiation. Geneva: World Health Organization.Google Scholar
WMO. 2011. Scientific assessment of ozone depletion: 2010. Report No. 52. Geneva: World Meteorological Organization, 516 pp.Google Scholar