Increased stratospheric ozone depletion and the corresponding increase in ground levels of UV radiation as well as ambient, "natural" UV radiation as a key ecological factor in the Arctic spring and summer are discussed in detail.

I Ozone Depletion and UV Radiation in the Arctic.- 1 Recent Changes in Surface UV Radiation and Stratospheric Ozone at a High Arctic Site.- 2 Spectral Properties and UV Attenuation in Arctic Marine Waters.- 3 Spectral Properties and UV Attenuation in Arctic Freshwater Systems.- 4 UV and the Optical Properties of Sea Ice and Snow.- II UV Radiation and Arctic Terrestrial Systems.- 5 Effects of UV-B Radiation on Terrestrial Organisms and Ecosystems with Special Reference to the Arctic.- 6 UV Tolerance, Pigmentation and Life Forms in High Arctic Collembola.- III UV Radiation and Arctic Freshwater Systems.- 7 UV Effects on Aquatic Microbial Food Webs in Northern Lakes and Rivers.- 8 UV Radiation and Arctic Freshwater Zooplankton.- 9 UV Radiation and the Pelagic Food Web of Arctic Freshwaters.- IV UV Radiation and Arctic Marine Systems.- 10 UV Radiation Effects on Phytoplankton Primary Production: A Comparison Between Arctic and Antarctic Marine Ecosystems.- 11 UV Radiation and Arctic Marine Macroalgae.- 12 UV Radiation and Pelagic Bacteria.- 13 Impacts of UV Radiation on Crustacean Zooplankton and Ichthyoplankton: Case Studies from Subarctic Marine Ecosystems.- V UV Radiation and the Arctic Human Population.- 14 Human Health and Arctic Ozone Depletion.

From the reviews of the first edition: "... an excellent insight into Arctic ecosystems as well as the effects of UV radiation on them ... The book is likely to be an important addition to libraries and bookshelves of ecologists, photobiologists, limnologists, and marine biologists, and probably many more besides." (Polar Record) "Hessens’s multi-author volume is an important work as it provides a logical series of chapters that address the role of UV radiation in the Arctic. … The book is a nice balance in many respects. Spatially, many of the chapters cover different areas of the Arctic. Phylogenetically, we are treated to an examination of organisms from bacteria to humans and most groups in between. … the book is an excellent insight into Artic ecosystems as well as the effects of UV radiation on them." (Charles Cockell, Polar Record, Vol. 39, 2003)