Total atmospheric transmittance in the UV and VIS spectra in Athens, Greece

This work investigates the seasonal and diurnal variation of total spectral transmittance of solar radiation. Such a study dealing with ultraviolet and visible wavelengths (310-575 nm) is carried out in Athens for the first time. The spectral values presented are averages over a number of records in a period of 42 days and have been calculated using ground-based spectral measurements of direct-beam irradiance. The data were recorded on selected days throughout a year by a simple pyrheliometer capable of performing spectral measurements. All data were recorded under clear-sky conditions in the city center of Athens and the total spectral atmospheric transmittance was estimated in the direction of local zenith to become independent of any optical mass effects. The comparison between seasons reveals that the atmospheric transmittance is higher in the cold period of the year than in the warm, simply because the photochemical pollution in the summer is more severe. Various features of seasonal and diurnal variation are also discussed with respect to emission sources, topographic peculiarities and wind regime.