Modelling of UV radiation variations at different time scales

Abstract

Solar UV radiation variability in the period 1976–2006 is discussed with respect to the relative changes in the solar global radiation, ozone content, and cloudiness. All the variables were decomposed into separate components, representing variations of different time scales, using wavelet multi-resolution decomposition. The response of the UV radiation to the changes in the solar global radiation, ozone content, and cloudiness depends on the time scale, therefore, it seems reasonable to model separately the relation between UV and explanatory variables at different time scales. The wavelet components of the UV series are modelled and summed to obtain the fit of observed series. The results show that the coarser time scale components can be modelled with greater accuracy than fine scale components and the fitted values calculated by this method are in better agreement with observed values than values calculated by the regression method, in which variables were not decomposed. The residual standard error in the case of modelling with the use of wavelets is reduced by 14% in comparison to the regression method without decomposition.