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Markku Rummukainen

Professor

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Stratospheric ozone depletion and solar UV radiation in the arctic and its potential impact on human health in Finland

Author

  • P. Taalas
  • E. Kyro
  • K. Jokela
  • T. Koskela
  • K. Lesiczynski
  • M. Rummukainen
  • J. Damski
  • Ari Supperi

Summary, in English

A Finnish national climate research programme, SILMU, has funded three projects in the field of ozone and UV radiation research during 1990-1995. The results of these projects are summarised here. The study of temperature sounding records made in Finland 1958-94 has revealed a warming trend in the lower and middle troposphere (up to 0.3 K/decade) and a cooling of similar order of magnitude in the lower stratosphere. The cooling has been largest in winter leading possibly to more ozone loss-favouring stratospheric climate. Trends of total ozone for 1979-94 at Sodankylä (1979-88 TOMS overpass data, 1988-94 Brewer) have been -8.0 ± 3.4 %l decade for winter, -3.2 ± 1.5%/decade for summer, and -4.1 ± 1.2%l decade for autumn. A study of tropospheric ozone changes for 1989-94 has revealed a negative "trend" of the order of-2 %l year. Indirect indications of chemically induced ozone loss in the Arctic winter/spring have been found, especially in 1995. Large part of the ozone anomalies observed in the Arctic may have different nature than those observed at Antarctica. Finnish UV radiation research was to a large degree started during the SILMU project including modelling, broadband and spectral UV measurements and methods for calibration and testing of the instruments. The effect of ozone loss on UV doses have been studied. It has been found out that the effect of ozone loss may be detected from the UV observations. It has been estimated from observations and model calculations that cloudiness is absorbing 40 % of the UV radiation on annual mean basis. It has been calculated that snowcover may intensify the UV irradiance considerably especially on a vertical surface, like human face or eyes. It is calculated that a 12 % ozone loss at 60 °N may lead to 17-33 % increase in non-melanoma skin cancers in Finland during next few decades. The future development of stratospheric ozone in the Arctic depends on the success in reduction of the halogenated compound emissions and on climatic change. Increase of atmospheric CO, concentration may change stratospheric climate in the Arctic towards ozone-loss favouring direction with increases in UV-B irradiances.

Publishing year

1996

Language

English

Pages

127-165

Publication/Series

Geophysica

Volume

32

Issue

1-2

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Finish Environment Institute

Keywords

  • Ozone
  • Polar vortex
  • Skin cancer
  • UV radiation

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0367-4231