United Kingdom

We are currently aware of thirteen UV monitoring instruments operating in the UK run by three organizations.

Eleven sites belong to a network run by the Health Protection Agency (HPA); formerly the National Radiological Protection Board. Each site maintains a mini-network of instruments consisting of one Solar Light SL 500 broadband radiometer, one Macam SD-104A, and one Macam SD-104L measuring erythemally effective, UVA, and photopic regions. Together, all of these instruments represent the only network operating in the UK. It should be noted that the Snowdon site is funded in part by the Welsh Assembly and maintained in collaboration with the University of Wales in Bangor. Data for all sites is available on CD-ROM by contacting HPA directly.
Contact Mr A J Pearson for more information. Click here for more on the Health Protection Agency's monitoring efforts.

There are also three solar monitoring stations operated internationally by the HPA. One of them is located in Greenland. The others are operated in Ireland.

A single Solar Light 501 UV Biometer is being independently operated by Dr. Daniel Peters at Oxford University. This broadband instrument was installed in 1996. It has been regulary calibrated and has participated in intercomparison exercises. Please e-mail to weather@atm.ox.ac.uk in order to request data. Contact Dr. Peters for more information. Click here to learn more about the University's atmospheric efforts.

Spectral measurements are made at Reading by Dr. J Rimmer and Dr. A Webb from the University of Manchester. These readings are for the Department of the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Scans from 290 to 500 nm with 1 nm steps were made hourly with an Optronic 742 spectroradiometer. Rountine data are available from December 1992. Sporadic (clear sky) spectral data are available from the same site from August 1989. Since 2000, the sampling has been increased to 0.5 nm steps at half hourly intervals and the instrument was changed over a period of time to a Bentham DM150.

Contact Information:

Mr. A J Pearson
Health Protection Agency
Center for Chemical, Radiological and Environmetal Hazards
Radiation Protection Division
Chilton, Didicot, Oxon
OX11 0RQ
United Kingdom
tel: +44(0) 1235 822814
fax: +44(0) 1235 833891
andy.pearson@nrpb.org

Dr. J Rimmer / Dr A Webb
University of Manchester
SEAES, Sackville Building
PO Box 88
Sackville St
Manchester M60 1QD
United Kingdom
tel: +44(0) 1613063906
fax: +44(0) 1613063941
john.s.rimmer@manchester.ac.uk

Dr. Daniel Peters
University of Oxford
Dept of Atmospheric Physics; Clarendon Lab
Parks Road
Oxford OX1 3PU
United Kingdom
tel: +44(0) 1865 272892
fax: +44(0) 1865 272923
dpeters@atm.ox.ac.uk