• UV characteristics of Antarctic sea ice

The well-known 'hole' in the ozone layer is in the southern hemisphere (with a hole of lesser degree in the northern hemisphere). Less ozone equals increased ultraviolet light incident upon the surface. This is an important problem for the biology of this region, which is (prolific and) dependent upon the algea which frolic in the upper regions of the ocean where they can be potentially harmed by intense UV irradiation. In springtime, when the ozone is at maximum depletetion, the sea ice is near maximum extent, so much of the ocean in the far south has a protective cover. Using a spectrophotometer, S-263 measured the intensity of ultraviolet light at 10cm intervals throughout ice of varying types in order to deduce the presence/absence/quality of this UV shield.