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Global Climate Change Digest
A Guide to Information on Greenhouse Gases and Ozone Depletion
Published July 1988 through June 1999

FROM VOLUME 7, NUMBER 3, MARCH 1994

PROFESSIONAL PUBLICATIONS...

• OF GENERAL INTEREST: ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION

Item #d94mar8

"UV Repair and Resistance to Solar UV-B in Amphibian Eggs: A Link to Population Declines?" A.R. Blaustein (Dept. Zool., Oregon State Univ., Corvallis OR 97331), P.L. Hoffman et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 91(5), 1791-1795, Mar. 1994.

Investigates and finds support for the hypothesis that differential sensitivity to increasing UV radiation accounts for declines being observed in some amphibian species and not others. Levels of the enzyme photolyase, which repairs DNA damage by UV radiation, were found to vary more than 80-fold among 10 species studied in the Oregon Cascade Mountains, and were related to whether species are showing population declines.

Item #d94mar9

Two related items in J. Natl. Cancer Inst., 86(2), Jan. 19, 1994:

"Sunscreens and Melanoma: Implications for Prevention," H.K. Koh (Dept. Dermatol., Boston Univ. Med. Ctr., 88 E. Newton St., Boston MA 02118), R.A. Lew, 78-79. Editorial giving recommendations based on the following article, which are especially timely in view of mounting concerns over ozone depletion and its effect on UV-B radiation.

"Effect of Sunscreens on UV Radiation-Induced Enhancement of Melanoma Growth in Mice," P. Wolf, C.K. Donawho, M.L. Kripke (Dept. Immunol.--178, Anderson Cancer Ctr., Univ. Texas, Houston TX 77030), 99-105. Experiments show that the application of sunscreens to mice protected them against sunburn but did not significantly alter melanoma tumor growth. Sunscreen use by humans could encourage longer exposures to sunlight, increasing the risk of melanoma. Further research on the effects of sunscreen is needed.

Item #d94mar10

"Increased Transmission of Ultraviolet Radiation to the Surface Due to Stratospheric Scattering," R. Davies (Dept. Atmos. Sci., McGill Univ., Montreal PQ H3A 2K6, Can.), J. Geophys. Res., 98(D4), 7251-7253, Apr. 20, 1993.

Examines the mechanism by which aerosol scattering can increase UV radiation reaching the surface. During the combined presence of an ozone hole and stratospheric aerosols, as from a volcanic eruption, this mechanism leads to the possibility that UV radiation reaching the surface at high latitudes can exceed the tropical maximum at sufficiently short wavelengths.

Item #d94mar11

"Ultraviolet Sunlight Reaching the Earth's Surface: A Review of Recent Research," J.E. Frederick (Dept. Geophys. Sci., Univ. Chicago, 5734 S. Ellis Ave., Chicago IL 60637), Photochem. Photobiol., 57(1), 175-178, Jan. 1993.

Reviews 1990-1992 publications. In middle latitudes, astronomical factors produce variations in UV that far exceed any changes predicted as a consequence of the decline in column ozone since 1970. In contrast, the large springtime depletion in Antarctica has lead to UV irradiances substantially larger than existed there prior to the last decade.