Fast simulation tool for UV radiation and diagnosis of measured UV spectra

FastRT is a fast, yet accurate UV simulation tool which computes downward surface UV doses, indices and irradiances in the spectral range 290 - 400 nanometers. It takes the main radiative input parameters into account, i.e. instrumental characteristics, solar zenith angle, ozone column, aerosol loading, clouds, surface albedo and topography. CheckUVSpec is a quality assurance program to check incoming UV spectra for an EU-funded European UV database. The algorithm is based on comparisons of measured UV spectra with FastRT simulations. The QA program can also be run by users to check measured UV spectra for obvious errors and to report the most likely type of atmospheric and surface scenario which was present during the measurements. An interactive URL WWW site: http://zardoz.nilu.no/~olaeng/fastrt/fastrt.html allows the public to run the FastRT program with most input options. This page also contains updated information about the FastRT and CheckUVSpec and links to freely downloadable source codes and binaries.