THE TEMPERATURE SENSITIVITY OF THE ROBERTSON-BERGER SUNBURN METER, MODEL-500

The temperature dependency of the response of the Robertson-Berger sunburn detector was tested. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) at 254, 302 and 315 nm resulted in temperature coefficients of -6.8%, +4.3% and +14.6% per 10-degrees-C respectively. Scans of the spectral response curve showed a redshift with increasing temperatures in accordance with measurements of the temperature response at solar exposure. The temperature dependency during solar exposure was calculated as S(T) = (0.831 +/- 0.060) 10(-2)T + (0.694 +/- 0.004), relative to a detector kept at a constant temperature, 32-degrees-C. The difference in average summer temperatures for Oslo city in the period 1951-1989 would influence uncorrected annual Robertson-Berger counts similarly as an approximate 2% change in the total amount of atmospheric ozone. The variation of the sensitivity of the Robertson-Berger meter with temperature is recommended to be corrected for by simultaneous temperature registrations.