Community Involvement
Biospherical Instruments is active in several research communities by serving on international panels and contributing to assessment reports sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), NOAA, and others.
Our involvement includes instrument systems and services, participation in field campaigns, and various levels of authorship on publications arising from these activities:
Lead and co-author of reports prepared by the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP) of the Montreal Protocol under the umbrella of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). [2014–present] Learn More >
Lead author of assessments on ozone and UV radiation in the Arctic for State of the Climate Reports published annually by NOAA. [2011–present] Learn More >
Co-author, WMO/UNEP Scientific Assessments of Ozone Depletion [1988, 2002, 2006] Learn More >
Contributing author, Arctic Climate Impact Assessment [2004–2005] Learn More >
Member of the Steering Committee of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change [2011–2017] Learn More >
Member of the working group on UV-instruments of the Scientific Advisory Group for UV established by the World Meteorological Organization [1998–2010]
UV Monitoring
Biospherical Instruments has operated the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) UV Monitoring Network between its inception in 1988 and 2009.
BSI has been responsible for overseeing the network's operation, data processing, quality control, and dissemination of data, and presenting the results at conferences and in the peer-reviewed literature. Instruments located in Antarctica were transferred to NOAA in 2009 and BSI is responsible to this day for producing the network’s final data.
At the height of the network’s operation, locations included the South Pole (photo); two research stations at the Antarctic coast (McMurdo and Palmer); the city of Ushuaia at the tip of South America; the northern-most point of Alaska; and a research camp established at the top of Greenland’s ice sheet. An additional instrument is located at our company’s headquarters in San Diego and is used to this day for the calibration of customer instruments and technician training. The NSF and NOAA networks have produced one of the longest continuous Climate Data Records of UV radiation in existence.
