A solar erythemal radiation monitoring programme in New Zealand and Queensland, Australia.

Solar erythemal radiation dose measurements carried out at five locations in Australasia from 43 degrees S to 19 degrees S during the southern summer of 1984-85 are reported. Monthly erythemal doses at the New Zealand sites reached a maximum of 8 x 10(4) joules/m2 for January and February 1985. During February 1985 this dose was the same as that measured at Townsville, Queensland, and slightly greater than the 7.3 x 10(4) joules/m2 at Rockhampton, Queensland. These results highlight the difficulty of calculating levels of solar erythemal radiation based on the latitude of the site because of local variations in cloud cover patterns.