The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Ultraviolet (UV) Radiation Monitoring Program has been measuring UV radiation since 1994. The initial network of 12 stations employed broadband meters to measure UVB irradiance and included ancillary measurements of temperature, humidity, and irradiance at seven wavelengths in the visible produced by a Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR). Since that beginning the network has expanded to more than 20 stations and the broadband meters have been supplemented with a seven-wavelength Ultraviolet Multi-Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (UV-MFRSR). The network has been designed to include 30 stations, each with a full complement of instrumentation. Annual characterizations of the network's filter radiometers indicate that gradual shifts in instrument response are manageable but must be accounted for to achieve accurate and precise measurements of UV irradiance. The characterization and calibration of the filter instruments is discussed along with filter stability and instrument precision. Broadband instruments are shown to be quite stable and collocated instruments are shown to agree to within 2.3% for zenith angles less than 80° under all sky conditions. Preliminary investigations into the accuracy of the UV-MFRSR calibrated with the Langley method are presented and successful column ozone retrievals are demonstrated with the UV-MFRSR under clear skies.

Abstract. The Langley method of calibrating UV multifilter shadow band radiometers (UV-MFRSR) is explored in this paper. This method has several advantages over the traditional standard lamp calibrations: the Sun is a free, universally available, and very constant source, and nearly continual automated field calibrations can be made. Although 20 or so Langley events are required for an accurate calibration, the radiometer remains in the field during calibration. Difficulties arise as a result of changing ozone optical depth during the Langley event and the breakdown of the Beer-Lambert law over the finite filter band pass since optical depth changes rapidly with wavelength. The Langley calibration of the radiometers depends critically upon the spectral characterization of each channel and on the wavelength and absolute calibration of the extraterrestrial spectrum used. Results of Langley calibrations for two UV-MFRSRs at Mauna Loa, Hawaii were compared to calibrations using two National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) traceable lamps. The objectives of this study were to compare Langley calibration factors with those from standard lamps and to compare field-of-view effects. The two radiometers were run simultaneously: one on a Sun tracker and the other in the conventional shadow-band configuration. Both radiometers were calibrated with two secondary 1000 W lamp, and later, the spectral response functions of the channels were measured. The ratio of Langley to lamp calibration factors for the seven channels from 300 nm to 368 nm using the shadow-band configuration ranged from 0.988 to 1.070. The estimated uncertainty in accuracy of the Langley calibrations ranged from _+3.8% at 300 nm to _+2.1% at 368 nm. For all channels calibrated with Central Ultraviolet Calibration Facility (CUCF) lamps the estimated uncertainty was _+2.5% for all channels.

The fourth North American Intercomparison of Ultraviolet Monitoring Spectroradiometers was held September 15 to 25, 1997 at Table Mountain outside of Boulder, Colorado, USA. Concern over stratospheric ozone depletion has prompted several government agencies in North America to establish networks of spectroradiometers for monitoring solar ultraviolet irradiance at the surface of the Earth. The main purpose of the Intercomparison was to assess the ability of spectroradiometers to accurately measure solar ultraviolet irradiance, and to compare the results between instruments of different monitoring networks. This Intercomparison was coordinated by NIST and NOAA, and included participants from the ASRC, EPA, NIST, NSF, SERC, USDA, and YES. The UV measuring instruments included scanning spectroradiometers, spectrographs, narrow band multi-filter radiometers, and broadband radiometers. Instruments were characterized for wavelength accuracy, bandwidth, stray-light rejection, and spectral irradiance responsivity. The spectral irradiance responsivity was determined two to three times outdoors to assess temporal stability. Synchronized spectral scans of the solar irradiance were performed over several days. Using the spectral irradiance responsivities determined with the NIST traceable standard lamp, and a simple convolution technique with a Gaussian slit-scattering function to account for the different bandwidths of the instruments, the measured solar irradiance from the spectroradiometers excluding the filter radiometers at 16.5 h UTC had a relative standard deviation of ±4 % for wavelengths greater than 305 nm. The relative standard deviation for the solar irradiance at 16.5 h UTC including the filter radiometer was ±4 % for filter functions above 300 nm.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture UV-B Monitoring Program measures ultraviolet light at seven wavelengths from 300 to 368 nm with an ultraviolet multifilter rotating shadow-band radiometer (UV-MFRSR) at 25 sites across the United States, including Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Column ozone has been retrieved under all-sky conditions near Boulder, Colorado (40.177 degrees N, 105.276 degrees W), from global irradiances of the UV-MFRSR 332- and 305-nm channels (2 nm FWHM) using lookup tables generated from a multiple-scattering radiative transfer code suitable for solar zenith angles (SZA's) up to 90 degrees. The most significant sources of error for UV-MFRSR column ozone retrievals at SZA's less than 75 degrees are the spectral characterizations of the filters and the absolute calibration uncertainty, which together yield an estimated uncertainty in ozone retrievals of +/-4.0%. Using model sensitivity studies, we determined that the retrieved column ozone is relatively insensitive (<+/-2%) to typical variations in aerosol optical depth, cloud cover, surface pressure, stratospheric temperature, and surface albedo. For 5 months in 1996-1997 the mean ratio of column ozone retrieved by the UV-MFRSR divided by that retrieved by the collocated Brewer was 1.024 and for the UV-MFRSR divided by those from a nearby Dobson was 1.025. The accuracy of the retrieval becomes unreliable at large SZA's of more than 75 degrees as the detection limit of the 305-nm channel is reached and because of overall angular response errors. The UV-MFRSR advantages of relatively low cost, unattended operation, automated calibration stability checks using Langley plots, and minimal maintenance make it a unique instrument for column ozone measurement.