Comparison of NASA-POWER surface solar UVA irradiance with ground-based measurements in Argentina

F. ORTE; F. CARMONA; A. LUSI; E. WOLFRAM; E. LUCCINI; F. NOLLAS; R. DELIA; J. PALLOTTA

Simposio; International Radiation Symposium; 2022

Surface UV (280-400 nm) solar radiation is mainly associated with its biological consequences and damage on materials. In the frame of SAVER-Net Project, ground-based instruments for solar radiation measurement at horizontal plane have been deployed in Argentina between 2013 and 2018 in 8 nodes along the country, including UVA (315-400 nm) radiometers (except for Tandil) (Orte et al., 2022). High-quality ground-based measurements are crucial to validate satellite retrievals due to it is the most reliable technique for obtaining surface solar irradiance. It is strategically deployed along Argentina covering a latitudinal range from ~26 to ~52°S, accounting with four stations in Patagonia. Subpolar latitudes of the Southern Hemisphere present a lack of zonal ground-based measurements due to the simple reason of the scarcity of continental areas, which put in evidence the necessity to reinforce the ground-based observation and the importance of the validation of satellite information with well-calibrated measurements in the study area. In this work, daily averages of surface solar UVA irradiance from NASA’s Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resources (DUVANP) (NASA-POWER; power.larc.nasa.gov) are compared against UVA ground-based measurements (DUVAGB) at 7 sites of SAVER-Net along Argentina showing good agreement.