A review of satellite, observations of atmospheric ozone

Abstract

Since the first satellite ozone measurements in 1960, basically three methods have been developed: backscattered solar ultraviolet, infrared emission, and occultation. In a review article by Krueger et al. (1980, Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A296, 191), the authors examine the above satellite methods and data covering the period up to about 1980. Our purpose is to review the development of the satellite ozone methodology since about 1980 with particular emphasis on the relationship of satellite data to the continued need for ground-based observations. Finally, we look toward the future to the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, to be launched in about 1991, and the view that this is to be a collective experiment, not a series of independent measurements, focusing on the photochemistry and dynamics of the stratosphere.