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Shadow-band radiometers in general, and especially the Multi-Filter Rotating Shadow-band Radiometer (MFRSR), are widely used for atmospheric optical depth measurements. The major programs running MFRSR networks in the United States include the Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture UV-B Monitoring and Research Program, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Surface Radiation (SURFRAD) Network, and NASA Solar Irradiance Research Network (SIRN). We discuss a number of technical issues specific to shadow-band radiometers and their impact on the optical depth measurements. These problems include instrument tilt and misalignment, as well as some data processing artifacts. Techniques for data evaluation and automatic detection of some of these problems are described.

The fourth North American Intercomparison of Ultraviolet Monitoring Spectroradiometers was held September 15 to 25, 1997 at Table Mountain outside of Boulder, Colorado, USA. Concern over stratospheric ozone depletion has prompted several government agencies in North America to establish networks of spectroradiometers for monitoring solar ultraviolet irradiance at the surface of the Earth. The main purpose of the Intercomparison was to assess the ability of spectroradiometers to accurately measure solar ultraviolet irradiance, and to compare the results between instruments of different monitoring networks. This Intercomparison was coordinated by NIST and NOAA, and included participants from the ASRC, EPA, NIST, NSF, SERC, USDA, and YES. The UV measuring instruments included scanning spectroradiometers, spectrographs, narrow band multi-filter radiometers, and broadband radiometers. Instruments were characterized for wavelength accuracy, bandwidth, stray-light rejection, and spectral irradiance responsivity. The spectral irradiance responsivity was determined two to three times outdoors to assess temporal stability. Synchronized spectral scans of the solar irradiance were performed over several days. Using the spectral irradiance responsivities determined with the NIST traceable standard lamp, and a simple convolution technique with a Gaussian slit-scattering function to account for the different bandwidths of the instruments, the measured solar irradiance from the spectroradiometers excluding the filter radiometers at 16.5 h UTC had a relative standard deviation of ±4 % for wavelengths greater than 305 nm. The relative standard deviation for the solar irradiance at 16.5 h UTC including the filter radiometer was ±4 % for filter functions above 300 nm.

Absolute calibration of spectral shortwave radiometers is usually performed with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) or NIST-traceable incandescent lamps. We compare 18 irradiance standards from NIST and three commercial vendors using the same spectrometer to assess their agreement with our working standard. The NIST procedure is followed for the 1000-W FEL lamps from NIST, Optronics, and EG&G. A modified calibration procedure developed by Li-Cor is followed for their 200-W tungsten-halogen lamps. Results are reproducible from one day to the next to approximately 0.1% using the same spectrometer. Measurements taken four months apart using two similar but different spectrometers were reproducible to 0.5%. The comparisons suggest that even NIST standards may disagree with each other beyond their stated accuracy. Some of the 1000-W commercial lamps agreed with the NIST lamps to within their stated accuracy, but not all. Surprisingly, the lowest-cost lamps from Li-Cor agreed much better with the NIST lamps than their stated accuracy of 4%, typically within 2%. An analysis of errors leads us to conclude that we can transfer the calibration from a standard lamp to a secondary standard lamp with approximately 1% added uncertainty. A field spectrometer was calibrated with a secondary standard, producing a responsivity for the spectrometer that was within 5% of the responsivity obtained by Langley calibration using routine field measurements.