<p>After recently visiting the Dead Sea in Israel and not getting any skin burns, I was wondering about the reasons for that. Searching the literature, it seems that the UV radiation is indeed lower in the Dead Sea (<em>ca</em>. -400 m) compared to Beer Sheva (a nearby city at <em>ca</em>. +300 m): <a href="http://solarlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/IJC1997.pdf">1</a> <a href="http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ANHM/issue/view/2251/showToc">2</a> <a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1158663">3</a>. Both UVA and UVB rays are lower, but UVB rays are attenuated the most.</p>

<p>These sources give mostly measurements, but hardly discuss the reasons for the lower radiation. I always thought that the ozone layer blocks most of the UV radiation, but here it seems that just a few hundred meters of atmosphere can greatly reduce the amount of incident UV.</p>

<p>What are the reasons for that? Is it simply because there are more air molecules that absorb the radiation?</p>

<atmosphere><ozone><topography>
What are the causes of lower UV radiation at lower elevations?
Gimelist
# What are the causes of lower UV radiation at lower elevations?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2014-11-01)

After recently visiting the Dead Sea in Israel and not getting any skin burns, I was wondering about the reasons for that. Searching the literature, it seems that the UV radiation is indeed lower in the Dead Sea (*ca*. -400 m) compared to Beer Sheva (a nearby city at *ca*. +300 m): [1](http://solarlight.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/IJC1997.pdf) [2](http://revistas.ucm.es/index.php/ANHM/issue/view/2251/showToc) [3](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1158663). Both UVA and UVB rays are lower, but UVB rays are attenuated the most.

These sources give mostly measurements, but hardly discuss the reasons for the lower radiation. I always thought that the ozone layer blocks most of the UV radiation, but here it seems that just a few hundred meters of atmosphere can greatly reduce the amount of incident UV.

What are the reasons for that? Is it simply because there are more air molecules that absorb the radiation?

**Tags:** atmosphere, ozone, topography


---

## 0 answers

