First national intercomparison of solar ultraviolet radiometers in Italy

Abstract

Abstract. A blind intercomparison of ground-based ultraviolet (UV) instruments has been organized for the first time in Italy. The campaign was coordinated by the Environmental Protection Agency of Aosta Valley (ARPA Valle d'Aosta) and took place in Saint-Christophe (45.8° N, 7.4° E, 570 m a.s.l.), in the Alpine region, from 8 to 23 June 2010. It involved 8 institutions, 10 broadband radiometers, 2 filter radiometers and 2 spectroradiometers. Synchronized measurements of downward global solar UV irradiance at the ground were collected and the raw series were then individually processed by the respective operators on the basis of their own procedures and calibration data. The comparison was performed in terms of global solar UV Index and integrated UV-A irradiance against a well-calibrated double monochromator spectroradiometer as reference. An improved algorithm for comparing broadband data and spectra has been developed. For some instruments, we found average deviations ranging from −16 % up to 20 % relative to the reference and diurnal variations as large as 15 % even in clear days. Remarkable deviations also arose from instruments recently in operation and never involved in field intercomparison.