A comparison of solar ultraviolet radiation exposure in urban canyons in Venice, Italy and Johannesburg, South Africa

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dc.contributor.author Wright, Caradee Yael
dc.contributor.author Du Preez, David Jean
dc.contributor.author Martincigh, Bice S.
dc.contributor.author Allen, Martin W.
dc.contributor.author Millar, Danielle A.
dc.contributor.author Wernecke, Bianca
dc.contributor.author Blesic, Suzana M.
dc.date.accessioned 2021-02-05T15:03:04Z
dc.date.issued 2020-09
dc.description.abstract Urban environments can have high‐risk spaces that can provide excess personal sun exposure, such as urban or street canyons, and the spaces between buildings, among others. In these urban spaces, sun exposure can be high or low depending on several factors. Polysulphone film (PSF) was used to assess possible daily solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) exposure in urban canyons in Venice, Italy and, for the first time in Africa, in Johannesburg, South Africa. The photodegradation of PSF upon solar exposure was monitored at a wavelength of 330 nm by ultraviolet‐visible spectrophotometry, and the resultant change was converted to standard erythemal dose (SED) units (1 SED = 100 J m−2). Mean daily ambient solar UVR exposure measured for Venice and Johannesburg ranged between 20–28 SED and 33–43 SED, respectively. Canyon‐located PSF exposures were lower in Venice (1–9 SED) than those in Johannesburg (9–39 SED), depending mainly on the sky view factor and orientation to the sun. There was large variation in solar UVR exposure levels in different urban canyons. These preliminary results should be bolstered with additional studies for a better understanding of excess personal exposure risk in urban areas, especially in Africa. en_ZA
dc.description.department Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology en_ZA
dc.description.embargo 2021-06-04
dc.description.librarian hj2021 en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorship The National Research Foundation, the South African Medical Research Council, the Ca’Foscari University “Marie Curie+1” grant and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research National Laser Centre. en_ZA
dc.description.uri https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17511097 en_ZA
dc.identifier.citation Wright, C.Y., Du Preez, D.J., Martincigh, B.S. et al. 2020, 'A comparison of solar ultraviolet radiation exposure in urban canyons in Venice, Italy and Johannesburg, South Africa', Photochemistry and Photobiology, vol. 96, no. 5, pp. 1148-1153. en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn 0031-8655 (print)
dc.identifier.issn 1751-1097 (online)
dc.identifier.other 10.1111/php.13291
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/2263/78294
dc.language.iso en en_ZA
dc.publisher Wiley en_ZA
dc.rights © 2020 American Society for Photobiology. This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article : 'A comparison of solar ultraviolet radiation exposure in urban canyons in Venice, Italy and Johannesburg, South Africa', Photochemistry and Photobiology, vol. 96, no. 5, pp. 1148-1153, 2020, doi : 10.1111/php.13291. The definite version is available at : https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17511097. en_ZA
dc.subject Polysulphone film (PSF) en_ZA
dc.subject Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) en_ZA
dc.subject Standard erythemal dose (SED) en_ZA
dc.subject Urban canyons en_ZA
dc.subject Venice, Italy en_ZA
dc.subject Johannesburg, South Africa en_ZA
dc.title A comparison of solar ultraviolet radiation exposure in urban canyons in Venice, Italy and Johannesburg, South Africa en_ZA
dc.type Postprint Article en_ZA


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