Total Column Ozone Measurements Research Articles

On the compatibility of Brewer total column ozone measurements in two adjacent valleys (Arosa and Davos) in the Swiss Alps

Abstract. The Arosa site is well known in the ozone community for its continuous total ozone column observations that have been recorded since 1926. Originally based on Dobson sun spectrophotometers, the site has been gradually complemented by three automatic Brewer instruments, in operation since 1998. To secure the long-term ozone monitoring in this Alpine region and to benefit from synergies with the World Radiation Center, the feasibility of moving this activity to the nearby site at Davos (aerial distance of 13 km) has been explored. Concerns about a possible rupture of the 90-year-long record has motivated a careful comparison of the two sites, since great attention to the data continuity and quality has always been central to the operations of the observatory at Arosa. To this end, one element of the Arosa Brewer triad has been set up at the Davos site since November 2011 to realize a campaign of parallel measurements and to study the deviations between the three Brewer instruments. The analysis of the coincident measurement shows that the differences between Arosa and Davos remain within the range of the long-term stability of the Brewer instruments. A nonsignificant seasonal cycle is observed, which could possibly be induced by a stray-light bias and the altitude difference between the two sites. These differences are shown to be lower than the short-term variability of the time series and the overall uncertainty from individual Brewer instruments and therefore are not statistically significant. It is therefore concluded that the world's longest time series of the total ozone column obtained at Arosa site could be safely extended and continued with measurements taken from instruments located at the nearby Davos site without introducing a bias to this unique record.

Reproducibility of total ozone column monitoring by the Arosa Brewer spectrophotometer triad

AbstractThe historical review of the total ozone column measurements with the Arosa Brewer triad in operation since 1998 is presented. The calibration history of the different instruments and the data quality control performed at Arosa are described. Over the last 15 years, the Brewer triad shows a dispersion of ∼0.4% between the three collocated instruments and a long‐term stability of ±0.5%. These values are a reference metric achievable with well‐maintained Brewer instruments under favorable measurement conditions.

Validation of Brewer and Pandora measurements using OMI total ozone

Korea will launch the Geostationary Environment Monitoring Spectrometer (GEMS) instrument in 2018 onboard the Geostationary Korean Multi-Purpose Satellite to monitor tropospheric gas concentrations with high temporal and spatial resolutions. The purpose of this study is to examine the performance of total column ozone (TCO) measurements from ground-based Pandora and Brewer instruments that will be used for validation of the GEMS ozone product. Satellite measurements can be used to detect erroneous outliers at a particular ground station, which deviate significantly from co-located satellite measurements relative to other stations. This is possible because a single satellite retrieval algorithm is used to process the entire satellite dataset, and instrument characteristics typically change slowly over the life of the satellite. Thus, the short-term stability (months) of satellite measurements can be used to estimate the performance of the ground-based measurement network as well as to identify potential problems at individual stations. As a reference for satellite ozone measurements, we have selected TCO data derived from OMI-TOMS V8.5 algorithm, because it is a robust algorithm that has been well studied to identify its various error sources. We validated ground-based Brewer and Pandora TCO measurements using OMI-TOMS TCO data collected over South Korea from March 2012 to December 2014. The Brewer TCO measurements at Pohang showed significant deviation from overall seasonal variation during the study period. In addition, in the presence of clouds, Pandora TCO measurements are unusually ∼7% higher than OMI-TOMS TCO data. To filter out these cloud-contaminated data, we applied a Kalman filter to the Pandora measurements. The diurnal variation in the Kalman-filtered Pandora data agrees well with the Brewer data, and the correlation of Kalman-filtered Pandora data with OMI-TOMS TCO is significantly improved from 0.89 to 0.99 at Seoul and from 0.93 to 0.99 at Busan.

NILU-UV multi-filter radiometer total ozone columns: Comparison with satellite observations over Thessaloniki, Greece

This study aims to construct and validate a neural network (NN) model for the production of high frequency (~1min) ground-based estimates of total ozone column (TOC) at a mid-latitude UV and ozone monitoring station in the Laboratory of Atmospheric Physics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (LAP/AUTh) for the years 2005–2014. In the first stage of model development, ~30,000 records of coincident solar UV spectral irradiance measurements from a Norsk Institutt for Luftforskning (NILU)-UV multi-filter radiometer and TOC measurements from a co-located Brewer spectroradiometer are used to train a NN to learn the nonlinear functional relation between the irradiances and TOC. The model is then subjected to sensitivity analysis and validation. Close agreement is obtained (R2=0.94, RMSE=8.21 DU and bias=−0.15 DU relative to the Brewer) for the training data in the correlation of NN estimates on Brewer derived TOC with 95% of the coincident data differing by less than 13 DU. In the second stage of development, a long time series (≥1 million records) of high frequency (~1min) NILU-UV ground-based measurements are presented as inputs to the NN model to generate high frequency TOC estimates. The advantage of the NN model is that it is not site dependent and is applicable to any NILU input data lying within the range of the training data.GOME/ERS-2, SCIAMACHY/Envisat, OMI/Aura and GOME2/MetOp-A TOC records are then used to perform a precise cross-validation analysis and comparison with the NILU TOC estimates over Thessaloniki. All 4 satellite TOC dataset are retrieved using the GOME Direct Fitting algorithm, version 3 (GODFIT_v3), for reasons of consistency. The NILU TOC estimates within ±30min of the overpass times agree well with the satellite TOC retrievals with coefficient of determination in the range 0.88≤R2≤0.90 for all sky conditions and 0.95≤R2≤0.96 for clear sky conditions. The mean fractional differences are found to be −0.67%±2.15%, −1.44%±2.25%, −2.09%±2.06% and −0.85%±2.19% for GOME, SCIAMACHY, OMI and GOME2 respectively for the clear sky cases. The near constant standard deviation (~±2.2%) across the array of sensors testifies directly to the stability of both the GODFIT_v3 algorithm and the NN model for providing coherent and robust TOC records. Furthermore, the high Pearson product moment correlation coefficients (0.94<R<0.98) testify to the strength of the linear relationship between the satellite algorithm retrievals of TOC and ground-based estimates, while biases of less than 5 DU suggest that systematic errors are low. This novel methodology contributes to the ongoing assessment of the quality and consistency of ground and space-based measurements of total ozone columns.

An investigation of temporal variability of the total column ozone over tropical urban, high altitude, and coastal stations in Western Maharashtra, India

ABSTRACTDistribution and variability of ozone are vital to the atmospheric thermal structure as it can exert great influence on climate. In this study, the Microtops II Ozonometer (Microtops)-measured total column ozone (TCO) data archived at the tropical urban, high altitude, and coastal observing sites during 2012–2015 are analysed to investigate the temporal structure of ozone. Results reveal that the TCO exhibits a non-negligible diurnal variability depicting distinct seasonal behaviour, which corroborates well with the Indian as well as the worldwide measurements of TCO. The mean rate of ozone diurnal change (Vs) in winter is found to be maximum (approximately 2.1 DU h–1) while it is minimum (about 0.53 DU h–1) in pre-monsoon. In spite of the prevalent variability of the order of about 2–9 DU amongst Microtops channels and Ozone Monitoring Instrument on board the NASA EOS/AURA spacecraft (OMI-AURA) measurements, there exists a strong monthly/seasonal variation in both the ground- and satellite-based TCO measurements. Monthly mean OMI-AURA TCO variation presents a nearly perfect sinusoidal wave with a coefficient of determination (R2) equal to 0.76. Monthly TCO is maximum in May/June and minimum in December/January. The noticeable diurnal and monthly TCO variability could be due to a complex combination of photochemical processes in the lower troposphere and the transport in the middle and upper troposphere. Linear regression technique applied to the Microtops and OMI-AURA data sets show that the two data sets are better correlated with a correlation coefficient (r) taking values 0.71, 0.77, and 0.61 for channels I, II, and III, respectively. The three Microtops channels show the dispersion of about 8–11 DU around 1:1 regression line which is of the order of one standard deviation of the daily mean data set. The TCO data at all Microtops channels either underestimate or overestimate with respect to the OMI-AURA measurements since the values for slopes of the linear regression line for all the three channels are ≤1. Pearson’s product moment correlation analysis indicates that the TCO anti-correlates with ultraviolet-B (UV-B) irradiance (vis-à-vis through UV index) as the Pearson’s product moment correlation coefficients are found to be in the range –0.52 to –0.97.

Efficient prediction of total column ozone based on support vector regression algorithms, numerical models and Suomi-satellite data

This paper proposes a novel prediction method for Total Column Ozone (TCO), based on the combination of Support Vector Regression (SVR) algorithms and different predictive variables coming from satellite data (Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite), numerical models (Global Forecasting System model, GFS) and direct measurements. Data from satellite consists of temperature and humidity profiles at different heights, and TCO measurements the days before the prediction. GFS model provides predictions of temperature and humidity for the day of prediction. Alternative data measured in situ, such as aerosol optical depth at different wavelengths, are also considered in the system. The SVR methodology is able to obtain an accurate TCO prediction from these predictive variables, outperforming other regression methodologies such as neural networks. Analysis on the best subset of features in TCO prediction is also carried out in this paper. The experimental part of the paper consists in the application of the SVR to real data collected at the radiometric observatory of Madrid, Spain, where ozone measurements obtained with a Brewer spectrophotometer are available, and allow the system's training and the evaluation of its performance.

Global and Hemispherical Interannual Variation of Total Column Ozone from TOMS and OMI Data

Daily Total Column Ozone (TCO) measurements compiled from Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) and Ozone Monitoring Instruments (OMI) were used to analyze the global and hemispherical TCO interannual variations. Two periods of TCO measurements were analyzed separately covering full years. For the 1978-1994 period, the TCO showed a global decade decrease rate of 13.45 DU (about -4.3%). For the Northern Hemisphere(NH) the decade decrease rate was of 12.96 DU (-4.0%), while in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) was of 13.57 DU (-4.5%). These decreases in ozone trends, using the totality of TOMS and OMI satellite measurements, are greater than those reported in literature. The 1998-2014 period global TCO decade decrease rate was of 1.56 DU, corresponding 0.94 DU and 0.138 DU for the NH and SH, respectively. The global TCO variations must show a double annual periodicity, the first one with maxima in March due to the Northern Hemisphere (NH) and the second one during September due to the Southern Hemisphere (SH). However, the maxima due to SH TCO interannual variations have gradually vanished. A disturbance in the SH TCO interannual variations has appeared since 1980; graphically the periodicity brakes down and transforms to a double peak from 1985 and on. This effect can be attributed to the hemispheric impact of the ozone hole at the South Pole. Between October 1, 2004 and December 14, 2005 TOMS and OMI have recorded this disturbance unequivocally. We conclude that the disturbance in SH TCO has an irreversible character.

Accuracy, precision, and temperature dependence of Pandora total ozone measurements estimated from a comparison with the Brewer triad in Toronto

Abstract. This study evaluates the performance of the recently developed Pandora spectrometer by comparing it with the Brewer reference triad. This triad was established by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in the 1980s and is used to calibrate Brewer instruments around the world, ensuring high-quality total column ozone (TCO) measurements. To reduce stray light, the double Brewer instrument was introduced in 1992, and a new reference triad of double Brewers is also operational at Toronto. Since 2013, ECCC has deployed two Pandora spectrometers co-located with the old and new Brewer triads, making it possible to study the performance of three generations of ozone-monitoring instruments. The statistical analysis of TCO records from these instruments indicates that the random uncertainty for the Brewer is below 0.6 %, while that for the Pandora is below 0.4 %. However, there is a 1 % seasonal difference and a 3 % bias between the standard Pandora and Brewer TCO data, which is related to the temperature dependence and difference in ozone cross sections. A statistical model was developed to remove this seasonal difference and bias. It was based on daily temperature profiles from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts ERA-Interim data over Toronto and TCO from the Brewer reference triads. When the statistical model was used to correct Pandora data, the seasonal difference was reduced to 0.25 % and the bias was reduced to 0.04 %. Pandora instruments were also found to have low air mass dependence up to 81.6° solar zenith angle, comparable to double Brewer instruments.

Brewer spectrometer total ozone column measurements in Sodankylä

Abstract. Brewer total ozone column measurements started in Sodankylä in May 1988, 9 months after the signing of The Montreal Protocol. The Brewer instrument has been well maintained and frequently calibrated since then to produce a high-quality ozone time series now spanning more than 25 years. The data have now been uniformly reprocessed between 1988 and 2014. The quality of the data has been assured by automatic data rejection rules as well as by manual checking. Daily mean values calculated from the highest-quality direct sun measurements are available 77 % of time with up to 75 measurements per day on clear days. Zenith sky measurements fill another 14 % of the time series and winter months are sparsely covered by moon measurements. The time series provides information to survey the evolution of Arctic ozone layer and can be used as a reference point for assessing other total ozone column measurement practices.

Comparison of total column ozone obtained by the IASI-MetOp satellite with ground-based and OMI satellite observations in the southern tropics and subtropics

Abstract. This paper presents comparison results of the total column ozone (TCO) data product over 13 southern tropical and subtropical sites recorded from the Infrared Atmospheric Sounder Interferometer (IASI) onboard the EUMETSAT (European organization for the exploitation of METeorological SATellite) MetOp (Meteorological Operational satellite program) satellite. TCO monthly averages obtained from IASI between June 2008 and December 2012 are compared with collocated TCO measurements from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the OMI/Aura satellite and the Dobson and SAOZ (Système d'Analyse par Observation Zénithale) ground-based instruments. The results show that IASI displays a positive bias with an average less than 2 % with respect to OMI and Dobson observations, but exhibits a negative bias compared to SAOZ over Bauru with a bias around 2.63 %. There is a good agreement between IASI and the other instruments, especially from 15° S southward where a correlation coefficient higher than 0.87 is found. IASI exhibits a seasonal dependence, with an upward trend in autumn and a downward trend during spring, especially before September 2010. After September 2010, the autumn seasonal bias is considerably reduced due to changes made to the retrieval algorithm of the IASI level 2 (L2) product. The L2 product released after August (L2 O3 version 5 (v5)) matches TCO from the other instruments better compared to version 4 (v4), which was released between June 2008 and August 2010. IASI bias error recorded from September 2010 is estimated to be at 1.5 % with respect to OMI and less than ±1 % with respect to the other ground-based instruments. Thus, the improvement made by O3 L2 version 5 (v5) product compared with version 4 (v4), allows IASI TCO products to be used with confidence to study the distribution and interannual variability of total ozone in the southern tropics and subtropics.

Total ozone column measurements using an ultraviolet multi-filter radiometer

We have developed and used a method to retrieve total ozone column (TOC), from Ultraviolet Multi-filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (UVMFR) measurements in combination with radiative transfer model calculations. Look-up tables of ratios of the direct solar irradiance at (DI) 305 and 325nm in terms of TOC, solar zenith angle, and aerosol optical depth (AOD) have been constructed and compared with TOC retrievals estimated directly from UVMFR irradiance measurements. Sensitivity analysis of the influence of AOD on the calculated TOC has been investigated and found to be 1 Dobson unit per 0.1 change in AOD. We also examined the impact of ozone effective temperature on the TOC retrieval and found that it leads to a 0.9% change in TOC per K. UVMFR direct irradiance measurements in Athens, Greece, during the period July 2009–May 2014 were used to create a time series of high-temporal-frequency measurements (1 min for cloudless conditions) of TOC, which facilitated an analysis of the diurnal variation of TOC. Comparison of the TOC retrievals from the UVMFR with co-located and synchronous daily TOC retrievals from a Brewer MKIV spectrophotometer showed very good agreement (correlation coefficient 0.98). Daily TOC retrievals from the UVMFR were within ±3% compared with the ones measured by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument overpasses on board the Aura satellite.

Extreme total column ozone events and effects on UV solar radiation at Thessaloniki, Greece

Thirty years of total ozone column (TOC) measurements conducted by a Brewer spectrophotometer, operating in Thessaloniki (40.6°) since March 1982, have been analyzed using the statistical extreme value theory for the identification of extreme TOC events. About 12 % of the total number of days with TOC measurements were identified as extreme-low and ∼15 % as extreme-high events. The influence of the extreme-low events on the annual mean TOC values is up to ∼18 DU, while the extreme-high events show lower impact (up to 12 DU). Removing the extreme events from the time series results in smoother year-to-year variability and reduction of the small long-term linear trend (−0.08 %/year) by a factor of 2. Furthermore, we examined the impact of the extreme events on the noon erythemal irradiance under clear skies, and we provide evidence that even under extreme-low TOC conditions, the UV radiation levels are determined to a great extent by the aerosol optical depth. Although the influence of aerosols is evident during all seasons, for spring and summer, the sensitivity of UV radiation is larger, probably due to the different nature of the aerosols over Thessaloniki during these seasons.

Temporal and Spatial Variability and Trend Investigation of Total Ozone Column over Iraq Employing Remote Sensing Data: 1979-2012

The objective of this paper is to analyze the temporal and spatial variability of the total ozone column (TOC) distributions and trends over Iraq, during the last 30 years (1979–2012) using remote sensing-derived TOC data. Due to shortage of ground-based TOC measurements. TOC data derived from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) for the period 1979–2004 and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) for the period 2005–2012 with spatial resolution (1o×1o) were used in present study. The spatial, long-term, monthly variations of TOC over Iraq were analysed. For the spatial variability, the latitudinal variability has a large range between (45 to 55) DU in winter and spring whereas during summer and autumn months ranged between (6 to 10) DU. Also represents an annual cycle with maximum in March and minimum in October. In contrast, the longitudinal variability is not significant. The long-term variability represented a notable decline for the period 1979–2012. The ozone negative trend was observed significantly during 1979–2004, for all months with trend ranged between (− 0.3 to 2) DU/year whereas the ozone positive trend was appear clearly during 2005–2007, for all months (0.1 to 2.3) DU/year ,except February and September which presented negative trends. The results can provide comprehensive descriptions of the TOC variations in Iraq and benefit climate change research in this region.

Temporal and Spatial Variability and Trend Investigation of Total Ozone Column over Iraq Employing Remote Sensing Data: 1979-2012

The objective of this paper is to analyze the temporal and spatial variability of the total ozone column (TOC) distributions and trends over Iraq, during the last 30 years (1979–2012) using remote sensing-derived TOC data. Due to shortage of ground-based TOC measurements. TOC data derived from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) for the period 1979–2004 and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) for the period 2005–2012 with spatial resolution (1o×1o) were used in present study. The spatial, long-term, monthly variations of TOC over Iraq were analysed. For the spatial variability, the latitudinal variability has a large range between (45 to 55) DU in winter and spring whereas during summer and autumn months ranged between (6 to 10) DU. Also represents an annual cycle with maximum in March and minimum in October. In contrast, the longitudinal variability is not significant. The long-term variability represented a notable decline for the period 1979–2012. The ozone negative trend was observed significantly during 1979–2004, for all months with trend ranged between (− 0.3 to 2) DU/year whereas the ozone positive trend was appear clearly during 2005–2007, for all months (0.1 to 2.3) DU/year ,except February and September which presented negative trends. The results can provide comprehensive descriptions of the TOC variations in Iraq and benefit climate change research in this region.

Comparison of Suomi-NPP OMPS total column ozone with Brewer and Dobson spectrophotometers measurements

The objective of this study is to evaluate the accuracy of the daily nadir total column ozone products derived from the nadir mapper instrument on the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) flying onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite (S-NPP) launched as a part of the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) program between NOAA and NASA. Since NOAA is already operationally processing OMPS nadir total ozone products, evaluations were made in this study on the total column ozone research products generated by NASA’s science team, utilizing the latest version of their Backscatter Ultraviolet (BUV) retrieval algorithms, to provide insight into the performance of the operation system. Comparisons were made with globally distributed ground-based Brewer and Dobson spectrophotometer total column ozone measurements. Linear regressions show fair agreement between OMPS and ground-based total column ozone measurements with a root-mean-square error (RMSE) of approximately 3% (10 DU). The comparison results indicate that the OMPS total column ozone data are 0.59% higher than the Brewer measurements with a standard deviation of 2.82% while 1.09% higher than the Dobson measurements with a standard deviation of 3.27%. Additionally, the variability of relative differences between OMPS and ground total column ozone were analyzed as a function of latitude, time, viewing geometry, and total column ozone value. Results show a 2% bias over most latitudes and viewing conditions when total column ozone value varies between 220 DU and 450 DU.

A cautionary note on the use of EESC-based regression analysis for ozone trend studies

Equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine (EESC) construct of ozone regression models attributes ozone changes to EESC changes using a single value of the sensitivity of ozone to EESC over the whole period. Using space-based total column ozone (TCO) measurements, and a synthetic TCO time series constructed such that EESC does not fall below its late 1990s maximum, we demonstrate that the EESC-based estimates of ozone changes in the polar regions (70–90°) after 2000 may, falsely, suggest an EESC-driven increase in ozone over this period. An EESC-based regression of our synthetic “failed Montreal Protocol with constant EESC” time series suggests a positive TCO trend that is statistically significantly different from zero over 2001–2012 when, in fact, no recovery has taken place. Our analysis demonstrates that caution needs to be exercised when using explanatory variables, with a single fit coefficient, fitted to the entire data record, to interpret changes in only part of the record.

Investigating the Temporal and Spatial Variability of Total Ozone Column in the Yangtze River Delta Using Satellite Data: 1978–2013

The objective of this work is to analyze the temporal and spatial variability of the total ozone column (TOC) trends over the Yangtze River Delta, the most populated region in China, during the last 35 years (1978–2013) using remote sensing-derived TOC data. Due to the lack of continuous and well-covered ground-based TOC measurements, little is known about the Yangtze River Delta. TOC data derived from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) for the period 1978–2005 and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) for the period 2004–2013 were used in this study. The spatial, long-term, seasonal, and short-term variations of TOC in this region were analyzed. For the spatial variability, the latitudinal variability has a large range between 3% and 13%, and also represents an annual cycle with maximum in February and minimum in August. In contrast, the longitudinal variability is not significant and just varies between 2% and 4%. The long-term variability represented a notable decline for the period 1978–2013. The ozone depletion was observed significantly during 1978–1999, with linear trend from (−3.2 ± 0.7) DU/decade to (−10.5 ± 0.9) DU/decade. As for seasonal variability, the trend of TOC shows a distinct seasonal pattern, with maximum in April or May and minimum in October or November. The short-term analysis demonstrates the day-to-day changes as well as the six-week system persistence of the TOC. The results can provide comprehensive descriptions of the TOC variations in the Yangtze River Delta and benefit climate change research in this region.

Dynamical and temporal characterization of the total ozone column over Spain

As the ozone is one of the most relevant variables in the climate system, to get further in its long-term characterization is a critical issue. In this study, measurements of total ozone column (TOC) from five well-calibrated Brewer spectrophotometers placed in the Iberian Peninsula are analyzed. The temporal trend rate for TOC is +9.3 DU per decade for the period 1993–2012 in Central Iberian Peninsula. However, the low TOC levels during 2011 and 2012 over the study region notably reduce this rate. Empirical linear relationships are established between TOC and pressure, height, and temperature of the tropopause. The linear fits showed seasonal and latitudinal dependence, with stronger relationships during winter and spring. Events with the presence of a double tropopause (DT) are proved to be characteristic of the study region. The decrease in TOC levels when these anomalous events occur is quantified around 10 % in winter and spring with respect to the usual cases with a single tropopause. The total weight of the DT events with respect to the annual values is about 20 %, with a negligible occurrence in summer and autumn and being latitudinal-dependent. The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) index explains 30 % of the total ozone variability in winter. The DT events are found to be more frequent during phases with positive NAO.

Intercomparison of satellite and ground-based ozone total column measurements

Ozone total column (OTC) measurements made in 2009–2012 near St. Petersburg by a Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometer (Peterhof, St. Petersburg State University (SPbSU)), an M-124 filter ozonometer, and a Dobson spectrophotometer (Voeikovo, MGO), as well as measurements made by a spectrometer ozone monitoring instrument (OMI) (onboard the AURA satellite) have been analyzed and compared. Comparisons have been performed both between ensembles of ground-based measurement data, as well as between ground-based and satellite data. It has been shown that the standard deviation for all devices is 2.5–4.5%; here, the FTIR and Dobson instruments measuring the direct sun are in better agreement with OMI than the M-124 ozonometer measuring the zenith-scattered solar radiation as well. A seasonal cycle in discrepancy with amplitude of 1.5% has been detected between two series of OTC measurements made by M-124 and OMI instruments for a total of 850 days. In fall and winter, the ground-based measurements underestimate the OTC values in comparison with satellite data; in spring and summer, the situation is reversed: ground-based data overestimate the OTC values. Also, it has been revealed that FTIR measurements systematically overestimate the OTC values in comparison with other instruments: from 1.4% (for Dobson) to 3.4% (for OMI). Taking into account the spatial and temporal discrepancy of independent ensembles of measurements and an analysis of standard deviations between ground-based and satellite measurement data, the FTIR spectrometer (SPbSU) can be recommended for OTC satellite data validation.

Ozone trends derived from the total column and vertical profiles at a northern mid-latitude station

Abstract. The trends and variability of ozone are assessed over a northern mid-latitude station, Haute-Provence Observatory (OHP: 43.93° N, 5.71° E), using total column ozone observations from the Dobson and Système d'Analyse par Observation Zénithale spectrometers, and stratospheric ozone profile measurements from light detection and ranging (lidar), ozonesondes, Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) II, Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) and Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). A multivariate regression model with quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO), solar flux, aerosol optical thickness, heat flux, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and a piecewise linear trend (PWLT) or equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine (EESC) functions is applied to the ozone anomalies. The maximum variability of ozone in winter/spring is explained by QBO and heat flux in the ranges 15–45 km and 15–24 km, respectively. The NAO shows maximum influence in the lower stratosphere during winter, while the solar flux influence is largest in the lower and middle stratosphere in summer. The total column ozone trends estimated from the PWLT and EESC functions are of −1.47 ± 0.27 and −1.40 ± 0.25 DU yr−1, respectively, over the period 1984–1996 and about 0.55 ± 0.30 and 0.42 ± 0.08 DU yr−1, respectively, over the period 1997–2010. The ozone profiles yield similar and significant EESC-based and PWLT trends for 1984–1996, and are about −0.5 and −0.8% yr−1 in the lower and upper stratosphere, respectively. For 1997–2010, the EESC-based and PWLT estimates are of the order of 0.3 and 0.1% yr−1, respectively, in the 18–28 km range, and at 40–45 km, EESC provides significant ozone trends larger than the insignificant PWLT results. Furthermore, very similar vertical trends for the respective time periods are also deduced from another long-term satellite-based data set (GOZCARDS–Global OZone Chemistry And Related trace gas Data records for the Stratosphere) sampled at northern mid-latitudes. Therefore, this analysis unveils ozone recovery signals from total column ozone and profile measurements at OHP, and hence in the northern mid-latitudes.