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Proxy reconstruction of ultraviolet-B irradiance at the Earth's surface, and its relationship with solar activity and ozone thickness

Jardine, Philip E; Fraser, Wesley T; Gosling, William D; Roberts, C Neil; Eastwood, Warren J; Lomax, Barry H

Authors

Philip E Jardine

Wesley T Fraser

William D Gosling

C Neil Roberts

Warren J Eastwood

Barry H Lomax



Abstract

Solar ultraviolet-B (UV-B) irradiance that reaches the Earth’s surface acts as a biotic stressor and has the potential to modify ecological and environmental functioning. The challenges of reconstructing ultraviolent (UV) irradiance prior to the satellite era mean that there is uncertainty over long-term surface UV-B patterns, especially in relation to variations in solar activity over centennial and millennial timescales. Here, we reconstruct surface UV-B irradiance over the last 650 years using a novel UV-B proxy based on the chemical signature of pollen grains. We demonstrate a statistically significant positive relationship between the abundance of UV-B absorbing compounds in Pinus pollen and modelled solar UV-B irradiance. These results show that trends in surface UV-B follow the overall solar activity pattern over centennial timescales, and that variations in solar output are the dominant control on surface level UV-B flux, rather than solar modulated changes in ozone thickness. The Pinus biochemical response demonstrated here confirms the potential for solar activity driven surface UV-B variations to impact upon terrestrial biotas and environments over long timescales.

Citation

Jardine, P. E., Fraser, W. T., Gosling, W. D., Roberts, C. N., Eastwood, W. J., & Lomax, B. H. (2020). Proxy reconstruction of ultraviolet-B irradiance at the Earth's surface, and its relationship with solar activity and ozone thickness. Holocene, 30(1), 155-161. https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683619875798

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jul 8, 2019
Online Publication Date Sep 12, 2019
Publication Date Jan 1, 2020
Deposit Date Jul 16, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal The Holocene
Print ISSN 0959-6836
Electronic ISSN 1477-0911
Publisher SAGE Publications
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 30
Issue 1
Pages 155-161
DOI https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683619875798
Keywords Ultraviolet-B irradiance; pollen; vegetation; palaeoclimate; solar activity; ozone
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2313465
Publisher URL https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0959683619875798

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