Group Members

• Dr. Rubén Piacentini
  Director, CONICET Researcher
• Dr. Eduardo Luccini
  CONICET Researcher
• Lic. Miguel Angel Parodi
  CONICET Researcher
• Dra. Maria Isabel Micheletti
  CONICET Researcher
• Ing. Graciela Salum
  Researcher
• Tec. José Pomar
  CONICET Support Personnel
• Tec. Pablo García
  Astronomical Observatory of Rosario Technician.

Projects

• Solar Activity

In order to better know the source Sun behavoior (figure 1) as regards its emission of electromagnetic radiation and activity variation within a 11-year solar cycle, the time series behaviour was studied by the artificial neuronal neural networks technique (figure 2), thus obtaining the prediction of cycle 23 (1996-2007), and in particular the prediction of its maximum with great accuracy (figure 3). This work was done in collaboration with the Intelligent Systems Group of IFIR.

Figura 1	Figure 2. Solar activity radiation measured through the sunspots number (SSN) and analysed by the mathematical technique of artificial neuronal networks (ANN).	Figure 3. Prediction of solar cycle 23 by using non-linear methods.

• Ozone

Intercomparison (figure 4) between satellite and ground-based ozone (figure 5) data in the Southern Hemisphere (in collaboration with the National University of San Luis and the National Meteorological Service)

Figura 4



• Pinatubo Effect

Figura 5

• Solar UV Radiation and its Biological Effects
Solar Ultraviolet Index (SUVI) for Argentina


The Group has developed, in collaboration with the Institute of Medical Physics, Innsbruck University (Austria) and the Skin Cancer Foundation of Argentina, the solar exposure risk index for the whole country. The index is daily predicted by the National Meteorological Service.

The forecast for the following day can be found on the Service site (http://www.meteofa.mil.ar) by clicking on the link Pronóstico (Forecast), and then on the Solar UV Index (SUVI).

Figure 6 shows an example of the kind of information given by a solar-risk intensity map. The figure on the left describes the SUVI for the following day under clear sky conditions; the figure on the right describes the SUVI under cloudy sky conditions.	Figura 7	Figura 8

Figura 9	Figura 10	Figura 11

Figura 12

• Computational programme UVAR

Dermatologists and medical doctors as well as health specialists and professionals of related areas are supplied with a computation programme for calculating solar radiation intensity at each location in Argentina and for any day of the year so as to determine the sun exposure risk for people engaging in various outdoor activities such as work, entertainment, sports, etc. The programme calculates the sun exposure risk under normal, larger than normal or thinner than normal ozone layer conditions, and for normal ground or for ground covered with snow. The programme also provides scientific information about the maximum sun exposure time for people with unprotected skin or using different sun protection factors (SPF) sunscreens.

The following figures Figures 6-12 show example of the solar risk maps for the 12 months of the year 2004 (that can be applied for the present years since the ozone layer over the region do not changed significantly this decade), for unprotected average normal skin (type III) and for ground not covered with snow. In case of ground covered with snow, the risk increases considerably (20-40%) according to snow conditions, etc.

Publications

2003

• M. I. Micheletti, E. Wolfram, R. D. Piacentini, A. Pazmiño, E. Quel, V. Orce, A. Paladini. "Erythemal and 305 nm solar irradiances incident over Buenos Aires, Argentina", Journal Optics A 5 S262-8, 2003.
• Piacentini, R.D., Cede, A., Bárcena, H. "Extreme solar global and UV irradiances due to cloud effect measured near the summer solstice at the high altitude desertic plateau Puna of Atacama" Journal of Atmospheric and Solar Terrestrial Physics (en prensa).
• R. D. Piacentini, E. Luccini, M. I. Micheletti, E. Crinó, L. Nuñez, A. Cede, M. Blumthaler, J. Herman, E. Quel, E. Wolfram, J. Fochesatto, A. Pazmiño, S. Godin y G. Mégie. "Satellite and ground solar UV radiation in relation with ozone and aerosol atmospheric variables in Argentina". Advances in Space Research (en prensa).

2002

• Cede A, Luccini E, Nuñez L , Piacentini R D y Blumthaler M, "Monitoring of Erythemal Irradiance in the Argentina Ultraviolet Network". JGR D13-20022001JD001206, 2002.
• Cede A, Luccini E, Piacentini R D, Nuñez L y Blumthaler M, "The Argentina Ultraviolet Network: Calibration and uncertainty estimation". Applied Optics. Publicado, 2002.
• Piacentini, R D, Luccini E, Albizatti E, Alfano O y Herman J. "Solar ultraviolet radiation incident in clear sky days on Rosario, Argentina". Journal Geophys Research D15, 2001JD000586, 2002.
• Piacentini R D, Crino E, Sirur Flores J y Ginzburg M. "Intercomparison between TOMS/NASA and ground based ozone measurements in the Southern Hemisphere". Advances in Space Research 29, 1343-1348, 2002.
• M I Micheletti y R D Piacentini. "Plant damage and solar UVB irradiances incident on different Argentinean regions". Photochemistry and Photobiology, 76 (3) 294-300, 2002.
• Cede A, Luccini E, Piacentini R D, Nuñez L y Blumthaler M. "Effects of clouds on erythemal and total irradiance as derived from data of the Argentine Network", Geophysical Research Lett 29 76-1 76-4, 2002.
• Luccini E, Cede A y Piacentini R D. " Effects of clouds on UV and total irradiance at Paradise Bay, Antarctic Peninsula, from a summer 2000 campaign". Theoretical and Applied Meteorology . 75 105-116 DOI 10.1007/s00704-003-0729-5, 2002.

2000

• Herman J, Zeimke J, Piacentini R D, E. Celarier y Larko D. "Ultraviolet exposure (UV-B) perturbations caused by the quasi-biennial oscillations (QBO) in ozone". Journal Geophys Research (JGR), 105, D23, 29189, 2000.
• Verdes, P, Parodi M A, Granitto, Navone H, Piacentini R D y Ceccatto H A. "Predictions of the maximum amplitude for the solar cycle 23 and its subsequent behavior using nonlinear methods". Solar Physics, 191, 419, 2000.

1999

• Bojkov R, Hudson R D, Piacentini R D, et al. "Ozone trends and variability". Review chapter 4 in "Ozone Assessment 1998". WMO, 1999.
• Herman J, McKenzie R, Piacentini R D, et al. "Ultraviolet solar radiation at earth's surface". Review chapter 9 in "Ozone Assessment 1998". WMO, 1999.