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Model description
Very different models are used in the model intercomparison, which was made from WG 3 of COST action 713, UV-B forecasting. The results will be published, including a model description. Please use these model describtions. Partly, here a more detailed description of the models is given. In many cases, the user of a model in the comparison is not identical with the author of the model. Thus, the descriptions of the models given in the following, are the version and the internal data which was used for the comparison, given by the users whose e-mail adress may be found on the next page. For more detailed information on model properties, please contact the authors of the models directly. References are given below.

Model 1: DISORT

Model 2: GOMETRAN GOMETRAN (Rozanov et al., 1997a, 1997b) is a pseudo-spherical multiple scattering RTM based on the finite-difference-method. It has been optimezed in the wavelength range 240 to 790nm covered by the GOME (Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment) satellite spectrometer. The solar data from the LOWTRAN (Kneisys et al., 1988) and the absorber cross-sections (NO2 and NO3) measured with the GOME flight model during the pre-flight calibration phase were used. Climatological trace gas profiles were taken from the MPI for Chemistry 2D model (Bruehl, 1992)

Model 3: SBDART Describtion of the model: SBDART (Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer) is a model which computes plane-parallel radiative tranfer in clear and cloudy sky conditions within the Earth's atmosphere. The code consists of a discreet ordinates radiative transfer (Stamnes et al., 1988) module, low resolution atmospheric transmission models of LOWTRAN7 (Pierluissi ans Maragoudakis), and Mie scattering results for light scattering by cloud droplets (Stackhouse, 1991). Up to 40 atmospheric layers and 16 radiation streams (16 zenith angles and 16 azimuthal modes) are allowed. The code is available by anonymous ftp at ftp://icess.ucsb.edu:/pub/esrg/sbdart . ET-spectrum: As an extraterrestrial spectrum, SBDART provides the user with two different solar spectra. One has been simulated with 5S computer code (Tanre et al, 1990), the other is the same as also used in LOWTRAN7 code (Thekeakara, 1974). The ET spectrum used in intercomparison runs was the one of LOWTRAN7 model. Weighting function: The weighting function used to derive the erythemal dose was chosen to be the erythemal CIE action curve of McKinley an Diffey (1987). An external Fortran90 routine, using the chosen function in weighting the spectrum and the trapezoidal rule in integrating the weighted spectrum, was purposely coded and utilized to derive the dose.

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References: A.F. McKinley and B.L. Diffey: A reference action spectrum for ultraviolet induced erythema in human skin, CIE Journal, 6, 17-22, 1987 J.H. Pierluissi and C.E. Maragoudakis: Molecular transmission band models for LOWTRAN, AFGL-TR-86-0272, AD A180655 P. Stackhouse, private communication, 1991: Dr. Stackhouse can be contacted at Colorado State University K. Stamnes, S. Tsay, W. Wiscombe and K. Jayaweera: Numerically stable algorithm for discreteordinate-method radiative transfer in multiple scattering and emitting layered media, Appl. Opt. 27, 2502-2509, 1988 D. Tanre, C. Deroo, P. Duhaut, M. Herman, J.I. Morcette, J. Perbos, and P.Y. Deschamps: Description of a computer code to simulate the satellite signal in the solar spectrum: the 5S code, Int. J. Remote Sensing 11, 659-668, 1990 M.P. Thekeakara: Extra-Terrestrial solar spectrum, 3000-6100 A at 1 A intervals, Appl. Opt. 13, 518-522, 1974

Model 4: STAR The aerosol description concerning the wavelength- and humidity-dependence of aerosol extinction, absorption, and phase functions in STAR is based on OPAC . For this model intercomparison the following parameters are used: Solar extraterrestrial spectrum: Ozone absorption coefficients: Atmospheric profiles for pressure, temperature and humidity: Atmospheric profiles of aerosol extinction: ATLAS 3 spectrum, shifted to terrestrial wavelength are taken from Bremen: GOMETRAN Midlattitude Summer (McClatchey et al., 19??) at 550 nm by Shettle et al., 1989, adopted in the haze layer to give the requested aerosol optical depths and combined with aerosol types with relevant absorption properties from OPAC. wavelength independent in the wavelength range 280 nm to 400 nm annual mean summer profile derived from measurements at Hohenpeissenberg, Bavaria, Germany in the time period 1968 to 1993 (Khler, 1995) 33 20 Erythemal CIE spectra of McKinlay and Diffey (1987) about 30 seconds

Ground albedo: Atmospheric profile of ozone:

Number of homogeneous layers used for the calculations: Number of wavelengths used for the calculations: Action spectra: Calculation time on a 75 MHz Pentium PC:

Model 5: UVSPEC UVspec model is based on the discrete ordinate algorithm DISORT (Stamnes et al., 1988, Appl. Optics, 27, 2502). It calculates diffuse and direct fluxes and intensities at any altitudes for the wavelength range from 176nm to 850nm with a resolution of 1nm. Radiation can be calculated at

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different altitudes for different surface albedo, solar zenith angles, cloud types, aerosol loading conditions and ozone concentrations. Model atmosphere, i.e. temperature, pressure and ozone profiles, can be also modified. Reference: Arve Kylling, 1995, 'UVspec User's Guide', available by anonymous ftp to ftp://kaja.gi.alaska.edu:/pub/arve .

Model 6: UVSPEC

Model 7: Diffey's model

The model is calculating the spectral irradiance or the global radiance for 16 wavelengths between 297.5 to 380 nm with following input parameters: zenith angle of the sun, ozone content of the atmosphere and see level. Diffey (1977) was fitting simple functions to measurements at Davos. The UV irradiance is increasing with 16% per 1000m elevation asl. References: P. Berner: Approximate values of intensity of natural radiation for different amounts of atmospheric ozone. European Research Office, US Army, London 1972 B.L. Diffey: The calculation of the spectral distribution of natural ultraviolet radiation under clear day conditions, Phy. Med. Biol. 22, 309-316, 1977

Model 8: Green's model Green's model (Green et al., 1979) is a simplified parameterization scheme based on the results of a more precise radiative transfer calculations of Braslau and Dave (1973) and Dave and Halpern (1975) The model calculates the diffuse and the direct components separately.

Model 9: Green's model Description of the model Green's model (Green et al., 1979) is a simplified parameterization scheme based on the results of a more precise radiative transfer calculations of Braslau and Dave (1973) and Dave and Halpern (1975). Mid-latitude ozone and aerosol distributions are assumed. The model calculates the diffuse and the direct components separately. ET-spectrum The extraterrestrial spectral irradiance H(lambda) is expressed as a function of the wavelength as follows .... Weighting function

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The weighting function used is the erythemal CIE action curve of McKinley and Diffey (1987). References Green, K.R. Cross and L.A. Smith: Improved analytic characterization of ultraviolet skylight, J. Photoch. Photobiol., 31, 59-65, 1979. N. Braslau and J.V. Dave: Effect of aerosols on the transfer of solar energy through realistic model atmospheres, Part III. IBM Research report, RC 4308, 1973 J.V. Dave and P. Halpern: Effect of changes in ozone amount on the ultraviolet radiation received at sea level of a model atmosphere, Atmosph. Env. 10, 547-555, 1975 A.F. McKinley and B.L. Diffey: A reference action spectrum for ultraviolet induced erythema in human skin, CIE Journal 6, 17-22, 1987

Model 10: TUV LAP used the Tropospheric Ultraviolet and Visible (TUV) radiative transfer code developed by Madronich (1993) available via anonymous ftp. The version used for the calculations utilised a twostream delta-scaled approximation to solve the radiative transfer equation, while the USSA (1976) model atmosphere was used as input to the calculations. Atmosphere: U.S. Standard Atmosphere, U.S. Government printing Office, Washington D.C., 1976 References S. Madronich: UV radiation in the natural and perturbed atmosphere, in environmental effects of ultraviolet radiation, ....?

Model 11: SMARTS2 Model description The solar shortwave direct beam irradiance is calculated from spectral transmittance functions for the main extinction processses in the cloudless atmosphere: Rayleigh scattering, aerosol extinction, and absorption by ozone, uniformly mixed gases, water vapour, and nitrogen dioxide. Temperaturedependent or pressure-dependent extinction coefficients have been developed for all these absorbing gases, based on recent spectroscopic data obtained either directly from the experimental literature or, in a preprocessed form, from MODTRAN2, a state-of-the-art rigorous code. The NO extinction effect, in both the UV an visible is introduced for the first time in a simple spectral model. Aerosol extinction is evaluated using a two-tier Angstr94m approach. Parameterizations of the wavelength exponents, single-scattering coefficients, and asymmetry factor for different aerosol models (proposed by Shettle and Fenn, Braslau and Dave, and also in the Standard Radiation Atmosphere) are provided as a function of both wavelength and relative humidity. Moreover, aerosol turbidity can now be estimated from airport visibility data using a function based on the Shettle and Fenn aerosol model. An improved approximation to the extraterrestrial solar spectrum, treated at 1nm intervals between 280 and 1700nm, and 5nm intervals between 1705 and 4000nm, is based on recent satellite data in the UV and visible. The total irradiance between 280 and 4000nm (1349.5 W/m-2) is obtained without scaling and is in good agreement with the currently accepted value of the solar constant (1367 W/m-2). Incident diffuse radiation and global radiation for any plane orientation at groundlevel are also calculated by the model, with provision for both multiple scattering effects and ozone absorption intricacies in the UV. SMARTS2 also has an optional circumsolar correction function and two filter smoothing functions which together allow the simulation of actual spectroradiometers. This facilitates comparison between modelled results and measured data. Atmosphere

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solar spectrum: Gueymard's Solar Spectrum (It is the WRC85 extraterrestrial spectrum but modified in some spectral intervals) Reference Atmosphere: Mid Latitude Summer (45?N) with the following vertical profile and effective pathlength: NO2 total column: 0.0002 atm-cm? alpha1: average value af Angstrom's wavelength exponent alpha for wavelength < 500nm = 0.9549 alpha2: average value of Angstrom's wavelength exponent alpha for wavelength > 500nm = 1.3090 aerosol asymetry parameter = 0.65 not circumsolar radiation not output data smoothing The model does not take into account the effect of cirrus. This makes jobs 100, 101 and 102 to have the same erythemally irradiance as job 13, 14 and 15.

Model 12: SMARTS2 model description SMARTS2 (Simple Model for the Atmospheric Radiative Transfer of Sunshine, Gueymard, 1995) is a spectral solar irradiance model based on simple transmittance parameterization. the model introduces spectral transmittance functions for the main extinction processes in the cloudless atmosphere for shortwave direct beam radiation: Rayleigh scattering, aerosol extinction, and absorption by ozone, uniformly mixed gases, water vapor, and NO2. Diffuse irradiance is considered as the sum of three components due to Rayleigh scattering, aerosol scatterin, and ground-sky backscattering. The first two components are corrected to take into account the multiple scattering effects. The model is available by anonymous ftp at ftp://alpha.fsec.ucf.edu . ET-spectrum The ET-spectrum used by the SMARTS2 is amodified composite of different datasets. Between 280 and 412nm, the UARS/SUSIM satellite data has been used to construct the spectrum. Weighting function Various action curves are included in the SMARTS2 model. The weighting function used to derive the erythemal dose in the intercomparison runs was chosen to be the erythemal CIE action curve of McKinley and Diffey (1987) Differences between FMI's and UB's results FMI and UB (University of Barcelona) had used different aerosol models and different reference atmospheres. FMI had used the USSA (U.S. Standard Atmosphere) reference atmosphere as it met the specifications stated for the pressure profile. The atmosphere UB had used was MLS (MidLatitude Summer). Futhermore, FMI had chosen the Haze L type aerosol model of Braslau and Dave (1973) whereas UB had used an experimental aerosol model simular to those of Shettle and Fenn. The differences in these inputs were concluded to have caused the differences between the results of the computations. References J.C. Arvesen, R.N. Griffin, and B.D. Pearson: Determination of extraterrestrial solar spectral irradiance from a research aircraft, Appl. Opt. 8, 2215-2232, 1969 N. Braslau and J.V.Dave: Effect of aerosols on the transfer of solar energy through realistic model atmospheres, J. Appl. Meteorol. 30, 601-619,1973

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C. Gueymard: SMARTS2, a simple model of the atmospheric radiative transfer of sunshine; algorithmus and performance assessment, Florida Solar Energy Center, Rep. FSEC-PF-270-95, 1995 A.F. McKinley and B.L. Diffey: A reference action spectrum for ultraviolet induced erythema in human skin, CIE Journal vol. 6, 17-22, June 1987 M. Nicolet: Solar spectral irradiances with their diversity between 120 and 900nm, Planet. Space Sci. 37, 1249-1289, 1989 C. Wehrli: Extraterrestrial solar spectrum, Pub. No. 615, World Radiation Center, Davos, Switzerland, 1985

Model 13: SPCTRAL2 model description This is a simple spectral model for calculating direct normal and diffuse horizontal spectral solar irradiance for cloudless sky conditions from spectral transmittance functions for the main extinction processes in the atmosphere: Rayleigh scattering, aerosol extinction, and absorption by ozone, uniformly mixed gases and water vapour. The model incorporates an algorithm for calculating spectral irradiance on tilted surfaces too. SPCTRAL2 producesa terrestrial spectra between 300 and 4000nm with a resolution of approximately 10nm. Inputs to the model include the solar zenith angle, the collector tilt angle, atmospheric turbidity, the amount of precipitable water vapour and ozone, surface pressure and ground albedo. solar spectrum and atmosphere We have used the samen extraterrestrial spectral irradiance (where we have added the 298-300nm interval) and atmospheric parameters as BIRD for rural aerosol model: extraterrestrial spectrum: Neckel and Labs (1981) revised spectrum (300-4000nm). From 298-300nm we have used Gueymard's dates alpha1: average value af Angstrom's wavelength exponent alpha for wavelength < 500nm = 1.0274 alpha2: average value of Angstrom's wavelength exponent alpha for wavelength > 500nm = 1.2060 height of the ozone maximum concentration: 22km wavelength variation factor: 0.095 aerosol asymmetry parameter: 0.65 we have assumed the value 2.4 cm for water vapour for all jobs. The model does not take into account the effect of cirrus. This makes jobs 100, 101 and 102 to have the same erythemally irradiance as job 13, 14 and 15.

Model 14: SPCTRAL2

Model 15: Canadian empirical model An equation with five terms was fitted to data of the erythemally weighted UV-B flux at the surface, measured in Canada, with parameters choosen so as to minimise the standard deviations. The

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equation includes solar zenith angle, earth sun distance, airmass and column ozone amount, but neglects aerosol turbidity and does not to take into account surface albedo, cirrus and altitude of the surface. Reference: Burrows, W R, M Vallee, D I Wardle, J B Kerr, L J Wilson and D W Tarasick: The Canadian operational procedure for forecasting total ozone and UV radiation. Met Apps 1, 247-265 (1994)

Model 16: Canadian empirical model, modified Canadian empirical model for clear days, modified for the territory of the Czech Republic. Input parameters: total ozone and zenith angle Reference: K. Vanicek: Relation between total ozone and erythemal solar radiation on clear days in Hradec Kralove, Proc. of the Workshop on monitoring of UVB radiation and total ozone, Poprad, 24.-26.04.1996, Slovak Hydrometeorological Institude, 1987

Model 17: Swiss empirical model

Model 18: Canadian empirical model improved Canadian empirical model (Model 15) with an improvement for low total ozone content. The erythemally weighted sor flux is unchanged against the results from model 15 if total ozone is greater or equal to 320 DU. If total ozone is less then 320 DU the flux from Model 15 is corrected by F(cor) = F * ( 1 + ( 90 - zenith angle ) * ( 320 total ozone ) * .1/ ( 70*90 ) Reference: W R Burrows, personal mail 4.Aug.1997. william.burrows@sec.gc.ca

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