GLOBAL OZONE AND SOLAR ULTRAVIOLET-B RADIATION DETECTION USING REMOTE SENSING (RADIATIVE TRANSFER MODEL)

he global distribution of solar ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation at the earth's surface is poorly known because of limited measurements. Most UV-B surface measurements are made near urban areas, where human-related ozone sources significantly influence surface UV-B measurements. Only recently UV-B measurements have been available in remote areas, least affected by human activities. Also, satellite remote sensing data and the space shuttle program are now available for the major atmospheric parameters that influence the UV-B radiation that reaches the earth's surface. Two-stream radiation transfer models have been developed to simulate the UV radiation at the earth's surface. The purpose of this research was to use remote sensor data and a modified two-stream atmospheric radiative transfer model based on delta-Eddington approximation to simulate UV-B radiation at the earth's surface and to evaluate its performance, based on high-quality surface measurements of UV-B in remote areas. Earth surface UV-B measurements in North America and Russia were used to evaluate the two-stream model. Model evaluation revealed that overall, the two-stream model simulated monthly UV-B radiation at the earth's surface within...