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Ozone Layer ObservationsThe US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has been monitoring the ozone layer from space using optical remote sensing techniques since 1970. With concern over catalytic destruction of ozone (mid-1970s) and the development of the Antarctic ozone hole (mid-1980s), long term ozone monitoring has become the primary focus of NASA's series of ozone measuring instruments. A series of TOMS (Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer) and SBUV (Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet) instruments has produced a nearly continuous record of global ozone from 1979 to the present. These instruments infer ozone by measuring sunlight backscattered from the atmosphere in the ultraviolet through differential absorption. These measurements have documented a 15 Dobson Unit drop in global average ozone since 1980, and the declines in ozone in the antarctic each October have been far more dramatic. Instruments that measure the ozone vertical distribution, the SBUV and SAGE (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment) instruments for example, show that the largest changes are occurring in the lower stratosphere and upper troposphere. The goal of ozone measurement in the next decades will be to document the predicted recovery of the ozone layer as CFC (chlorofluorocarbon) levels decline. This will require a continuation of global measurements of total column ozone on a global basis, but using data from successor instruments to TOMS. Hyperspectral instruments capable of measuring in the UV will be needed for this purpose. Establishing the relative roles of chemistry and dynamics will require instruments to measure ozone in the troposphere and in the stratosphere with good vertical resolution. Instruments that can measure other chemicals important to ozone formation and destruction will also be needed.
Document ID
20020060753
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
McPeters, Richard
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD United States)
Bhartia, P. K.
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2002
Subject Category
Environment Pollution
Meeting Information
Meeting: Invited Talk for the Communications Research Laboratory International Symposium on Light Propagation and Sensing Technologies for Future Applications
Location: Tokyo
Country: Japan
Start Date: March 13, 2002
End Date: March 14, 2002
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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