ENHANCED ULTRAVIOLET TRANSMISSION OF ANTARCTIC SEA ICE DURING THE AUSTRAL SPRING

In determining the effect of the recent enhanced UV levels on Antarctic life it is important to know UV radiance under the vast sea ice cover surrounding the continent. This radiance is influenced by the transmission of the ice, and in this paper we report the first UV measurements on this turbid medium. The transmission is found to be largest in the Spring, so that life under the ice has always experienced its major UV irradiation dose in October. Dose enhancements by as much as an order of magnitude will have been experienced under the ozone holes of recent years. Copyright 1990 by the American Geophysical Union.