The sun is responsible for the development and continued existence of life on Earth. We are warmed by the sun's infrared rays and we can see with eyes that respond to the visible part of the sun's spectrum. More importantly, visible light is essential for photosynthesis, the process whereby plants, necessary for our nutrition, derive their energy. Besides serving as the ultimate source of his food and his energy, sunlight also acts on man to alter his chemical composition, control the rate of his maturation and drive his biological rhythms. However, the ultraviolet (UV) component, which comprises approximately 5% of terrestrial solar radiation, is largely responsible for the deleterious effects associated with sun exposure. In particular. the shorter wavelengths of terrestrial UV radiation (UV-B waveband: 290-320nm) are especially damaging. A major influence on the spectral irradiance of this waveband reaching the Earth's surface is stratospheric ozone.
Diffey BL. Sunlight, skin cancer and ozone depletion. Causes and environmental implications of increased UV-B radiation (Eds. RE Hester and RM Harrison) Issues in Environmental Science and Technology volume 14, Royal Society of Chemistry, London, 2000, 107-119.
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