The effects of solar ultraviolet (UV)-B and UV-A radiation on the potential efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) in leaves of tropical plants were investigated in Panama (9 degrees N). Shade-grown tree seedlings or detached sun leaves from the outer crown of mature trees were exposed for short periods (up to 75 min) to direct sunlight filtered through plastic or glass filters that absorbed eithe...

High solar radiation along with extreme transparency leads to high penetration of solar radiation in the Red Sea, potentially harmful to biota inhabiting the upper water column, including zooplankton. Here we show, based on experimental assessments of solar radiation dose-mortality curves on eight common taxa, the mortality of zooplankton in the oligotrophic waters of the Red Sea to increase st...

The surfaces of Jupiter’s moons are profoundly weathered by jovian charged particle and solar ultraviolet (UV) irradiation. Although early observations of the Galilean satellites suggested that their reflectance spectra were modified by energetic particles, it has only recently been shown quantitatively that radiolysis and photolysis, the chemical alteration of a surface by charge-particles and...

The Martian regolith is exposed to solar irradiation in the near-UV (200-390 nm). Basalt is one of the main components of the dust on Mars surface. The near-UV irradiation of basalt dust on Mars is simulated experimentally in order to determine the transmittance as a function of the mass and thickness of the dust. This data can serve to quantify the absorption of dust deposited on sensors aimin...

Solar UV radiation, climate and other drivers of global change are undergoing significant changes and models forecast that these changes will continue for the remainder of this century. Here we assess the effects of solar UV radiation on biogeochemical cycles and the interactions of these effects with climate change, including feedbacks on climate. Such interactions occur in both terrestrial an...

A substantial loss in the stratospheric ozone layer due to anthropogenically released chemicals has aroused concern about the effects of increased solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR), particularly UV-B (280-315 nm), on the Earth’s surface. Solar UV-B radiation is detrimental for most sun-exposed organisms, including humans. They can penetrate deep into biologically significant depths in lakes, po...

Photomorphogenic responses triggered by low fluence rates of ultraviolet B radiation (UV-B; 280-315 nm) are mediated by the UV-B photoreceptor UV RESISTANCE LOCUS8 (UVR8). Beyond our understanding of the molecular mechanisms of UV-B perception by UVR8, there is still limited information on how the UVR8 pathway functions under natural sunlight. Here, wild-type Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) ...

Although the power conversion efficiency of perovskite solar cells has increased from 3.81% to 22.1% in just 7 years, they still suffer from stability issues, as they degrade upon exposure to moisture, UV light, heat, and bias voltage. We herein examined the degradation of perovskite solar cells in the presence of UV light alone. The cells were exposed to 365 nm UV light for over 1,000 h under ...

Most of the positive effects of solar radiation are mediated via ultraviolet-B (UVB) induced production of vitamin D in skin. However, several other pathways may exist for the action of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on humans as focused on in this review. One is induction of cosmetic tanning (immediate pigment darkening, persistent pigment darkening and delayed tanning). UVB-induced, delayed tanni...