Past changes in the vertical distribution of ozone - Part 1: Measurement techniques, uncertainties and availability

Peak stratospheric chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) and
other ozone depleting substance (ODS) concentrations were
reached in the mid- to late 1990s. Detection and attribution
of the expected recovery of the stratospheric ozone layer in
an atmosphere with reduced ODSs as well as efforts to understand
the evolution of stratospheric ozone in the presence
of increasing greenhouse gases are key current research topics.
These require a critical examination of the ozone changes
with an accurate knowledge of the spatial (geographical and
vertical) and temporal ozone response. For such an examination,
it is vital that the quality of the measurements used
be as high as possible and measurement uncertainties well
quantified.
In preparation for the 2014 United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP)/World Meteorological Organization
(WMO) Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion, the
SPARC/IO3C/IGACO-O3/NDACC (SI2N) Initiative was designed
to study and document changes in the global ozone
profile distribution. This requires assessing long-term ozone
profile data sets in regards to measurement stability and
uncertainty characteristics. The ultimate goal is to establish
suitability for estimating long-term ozone trends to contribute
to ozone recovery studies. Some of the data sets have
been improved as part of this initiative with updated versions
now available.
This summary presents an overview of stratospheric ozone
profile measurement data sets (ground and satellite based)
available for ozone recovery studies. Here we document
measurement techniques, spatial and temporal coverage, vertical
resolution, native units and measurement uncertainties.
In addition, the latest data versions are briefly described (including
data version updates as well as detailing multiple
retrievals when available for a given satellite instrument).
Archive location information for each data set is also given.