Douglas Isbell

Headquarters, Washington, DC August 1, 1996

(Phone: 202/358-1753)

Allen Kenitzer
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD
(Phone: 301/286-8955)

RELEASE: 96-153

SURFACE ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION LEVELS

HAVE INCREASED FROM 1979 TO 1992

Solar ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth's surface

has increased over large regions of the planet during the
past 15 years, as the amount of total ozone in the atmosphere
has decreased, according to a scientific paper published in
the August 1 issue of Geophysical Research Letters.

Scientists and others have a keen interest in ozone

depletion, given that the increased amounts of ultraviolet
radiation that reach the Earth's surface because of the ozone
loss, have the potential to increase the incidence of skin
cancer and cataracts in humans, cause harm to some food
crops, and interfere with marine life.

Ozone, a molecule made up of three atoms of oxygen, is

found in the atmosphere between the ground and about 37 miles
in altitude. Ozone absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the
Sun and shields life on Earth from its harmful effects.

Because the risks of further increases in ultraviolet

radiation are serious, scientists around the world are
working to improve our current understanding of how much of
the ozone-related change in the atmosphere is caused by
humans and how much is attributable to natural processes,
such as shifts in atmospheric dynamics, variable volcanic
activity or long-term cyclical changes in solar radiation.

The finding, derived from extensive analysis of data

from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument
flown aboard NASA's Nimbus-7 satellite, is based on the known
relationship between atmospheric ozone depletion and the
resulting decrease in protection from ultraviolet radiation
(UV-B, 290 nanometers to 320 nanometers). The accuracy of
the TOMS-derived surface UV-B values has been validated by
comparison with several ground-based spectrometers in Canada,
New Zealand, and South America.

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"The increases are largest in the middle and high

latitudes, where most people live, and where the majority of
the world's agricultural activity occurs," said Dr. Jay R.
Herman, an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, and the lead author of the
paper, "UV-B increases (1979-1992) from decreases in total
ozone."

In the paper, Herman finds that annual average UV-B

exposure has increased by 6.8 percent per decade at 55
degrees north latitude, where major populations in countries
such as England, Germany, Russia and Scandinavia reside. At
55 degrees south latitude, which includes the southern
portions of Argentina and Chile, the increase has been 9.9
percent per decade. In North America, the changes are
smaller since most of theÊpopulation lives below 55 degrees.
The UV-B changes for regions near the Canadian border show
about a 4 percent increase per decade.

"This confirmation that we can use a space-based sensor

like TOMS to measure long-term global surface ultraviolet
radiation levels represents a very powerful new tool for
Earth scientists and others to use both now and in the
future," said Dr. Robert Harriss, director of the science
division of NASA's Office of Mission to Planet Earth,
Washington, DC.

Studies have shown that ozone depletion is caused by

complex, coupled chemical reactions. Emissions of human-
manufactured chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which break down
into ozone-depleting forms of chlorine, have led to reduced
levels of atmospheric ozone. If unchecked, the continued
build-up of CFCs, historically used in refrigeration,
electronics, and insulating materials, could lead to
additional ozone loss worldwide. However, international
agreements signed in recent years have led to sharply reduced
usage of CFCs, which should lead to the slow recovery of the
ozone layer. Already there are initial indications that the
reduced CFC usage is effective in slowing the build-up of
tropospheric chlorine.

During its lifetime on the Nimbus-7 satellite, the TOMS

helped make "ozone" a household word through its false-color
images of the Antarctic "ozone hole," which forms from
September through November each year. The NASA-developed
instrument, which measures ozone indirectly by monitoring
ultraviolet light scattered by the atmosphere, produces daily
maps of the global distribution of ozone in Earth's
atmosphere and of the surface UV.

Another Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer was launched on

July 2, 1996, aboard a dedicated NASA Earth Probe satellite
called TOMS/EP. To ensure that such global ozone data will
be available throughout the next decade, NASA plans to
continue the TOMS program using both U.S. and international
spacecraft. Japan's Advanced Earth Observing Satellite will
carry a TOMS into orbit during its scheduled launch on August
16, and a fifth TOMS instrument is being prepared for flight
in 2000 aboard a Russian spacecraft.

TOMS is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth, a long-

term, coordinated research effort to study the Earth as a
global system. The TOMS instruments are managed by Goddard
for the Office of Mission to Planet Earth.
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