IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v16y2019i6p997-d215359.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Measuring and Visualizing Solar UV for a Wide Range of Atmospheric Conditions on Hawai’i Island

Author

Listed:
  • Forrest M. Mims

    (Geronimo Creek Observatory, 433 Twin Oak Road, Seguin, TX 78155, USA)

  • Andrew J. S. McGonigle

    (Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
    School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
    Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia)

  • Thomas C. Wilkes

    (Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK)

  • Alfio V. Parisi

    (Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, QLD 4350, Australia)

  • William B. Grant

    (Sunlight, Nutrition, and Health Research Center, P.O. Box 641603, San Francisco, CA 94164-1603, USA)

  • Joseph M. Cook

    (Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK)

  • Tom D. Pering

    (Department of Geography, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK)

Abstract

Hawai’i Island often receives extreme (UV Index ≥ 11) solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR). While the UV Index (UVI) has been measured since 1997 at Hawai’i’s high-altitude Mauna Loa Observatory (MLO), measurements where people live and recreate are rare. We measured UVI on the face of a rotating mannequin head with UVR sensors at its eyes, ears and cheeks while simultaneously measuring the UVI with a zenith-facing sensor at MLO and seven sites at or near sea level from 19 July to 14 August 2018. The mannequin sensors received higher UVR at midmorning and midafternoon than at noon. For example, at sea level the peak UVI at the left cheek was 5.2 at midmorning and 2.9 at noon, while the horizontal UVI at noon was 12.7. Our measurements were supplemented with wide-angle (190° and 360°) sky photographs and UV images of the mannequin head. Because the UVI applies to horizontal surfaces, people in tropical and temperate latitudes should be informed that their face may be more vulnerable to UVR at midmorning and midafternoon than at noon. Finally, our instruments provided opportunities to measure unexpected UVR-altering events, including rare biomass smoke over MLO and spectroscopic measurements of substantial UVR-absorbing sulfur dioxide in the eruption plume of the Kilauea volcano.

Suggested Citation

  • Forrest M. Mims & Andrew J. S. McGonigle & Thomas C. Wilkes & Alfio V. Parisi & William B. Grant & Joseph M. Cook & Tom D. Pering, 2019. "Measuring and Visualizing Solar UV for a Wide Range of Atmospheric Conditions on Hawai’i Island," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-24, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:6:p:997-:d:215359
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/6/997/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/16/6/997/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mario Blumthaler, 2018. "UV Monitoring for Public Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-10, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Katharina Diehl & Tatiana Görig & Charlotte Jansen & Maike Carola Hruby & Annette B. Pfahlberg & Olaf Gefeller, 2021. "“I’ve Heard of It, Yes, but I Can’t Remember What Exactly It Was”—A Qualitative Study on Awareness, Knowledge, and Use of the UV Index," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-10, February.
    2. Joji Abraham & Christopher Turville & Kim Dowling & Singarayer Florentine, 2021. "Does Climate Play Any Role in COVID-19 Spreading?—An Australian Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-14, August.
    3. Simone Pettigrew & Ashleigh Parnell & Mark Strickland & Rachel Neale & Robyn Lucas, 2020. "The Potential of Ultraviolet Radiation Meters in Secondary Schools as a Sun Protection Intervention Mechanism for Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-13, February.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:16:y:2019:i:6:p:997-:d:215359. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.