Monitoring the solar UV irradiance spectrum from the observation of a few passbands
Publication date: 03 March 2011
Authors: Cessateur, G. et al.
Journal: A&A
Volume: 528
Issue: April
Page: A68
Year: 2011
Copyright: ESO
Context. The solar irradiance in the UV is a key ingredient in space weather applications; however, because of the lack of continuous and long-term observations, various indices are still used today as surrogates for the solar spectral irradiance.
Aims. As an alternative to current spectrometers we use a few radiometers with properly chosen passbands and reconstruct the solar spectral irradiance from their outputs. The feasibility of such a reconstruction is justified by the high redundancy in the spectral variability.
Methods. Using a multivariate statistical approach, we first compared six years of daily-averaged UV spectra and a selection of passbands (from existing radiometers) and solar indices. This leads to a strategy for defining those passbands that are most appropriate for reconstructing the spectrum.
Results. With four passdbands chosen from already existing instruments, we reconstruct the UV spectrum with a relative error of about 20%. Better performance is achieved with a combination of passbands than with a combination of indices.
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