A post-2013 dropoff in total ozone at a third of global ozonesonde stations: Electrochemical concentration cell instrument artifacts?

An international effort to improve ozonesonde data quality and to reevaluate historical records has made significant improvements in the accuracy of global network data. However, between 2014 and 2016, ozonesonde total column ozone (TCO; O-3) at 14 of 37 regularly reporting stations exhibited a sudden dropoff relative to satellite measurements. The ozonesonde TCO drop is 3-7% compared to satellite and ground-based TCO, and 5-10% or more compared to satellite stratospheric O(3)profiles, compromising the use of recent data for trends, although they remain reliable for other uses. Hardware changes in the ozonesonde instrument are likely a major factor in the O(3)dropoff, but no single property of the ozonesonde explains the findings. The bias remains in recent data. Research to understand the dropoff is in progress; this letter is intended as a caution to users of the data. Our findings underscore the importance of regular ozonesonde data evaluation.

To Access Resource:

Questions? Email Resource Support Contact:

  • opensky@ucar.edu
    UCAR/NCAR - Library

Resource Type publication
Temporal Range Begin N/A
Temporal Range End N/A
Temporal Resolution N/A
Bounding Box North Lat N/A
Bounding Box South Lat N/A
Bounding Box West Long N/A
Bounding Box East Long N/A
Spatial Representation N/A
Spatial Resolution N/A
Related Links N/A
Additional Information N/A
Resource Format PDF
Standardized Resource Format PDF
Asset Size N/A
Legal Constraints

Copyright 2020 American Geophysical Union.


Access Constraints None
Software Implementation Language N/A

Resource Support Name N/A
Resource Support Email opensky@ucar.edu
Resource Support Organization UCAR/NCAR - Library
Distributor N/A
Metadata Contact Name N/A
Metadata Contact Email opensky@ucar.edu
Metadata Contact Organization UCAR/NCAR - Library

Author Stauffer, Ryan M.
Thompson, Anne M.
Kollonige, Debra E.
Witte, Jacquelyn C.
Tarasick, David W.
Davies, Jonathan
Vömel, Holger
Morris, Gary A.
Van Malderen, Roeland
Johnson, Bryan J.
Querel, Richard R.
Selkirk, Henry B.
Stübi, Rene
Smit, Herman G. J.
Publisher UCAR/NCAR - Library
Publication Date 2020-06-16T00:00:00
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) Not Assigned
Alternate Identifier N/A
Resource Version N/A
Topic Category geoscientificInformation
Progress N/A
Metadata Date 2023-08-18T18:32:12.979425
Metadata Record Identifier edu.ucar.opensky::articles:23474
Metadata Language eng; USA
Suggested Citation Stauffer, Ryan M., Thompson, Anne M., Kollonige, Debra E., Witte, Jacquelyn C., Tarasick, David W., Davies, Jonathan, Vömel, Holger, Morris, Gary A., Van Malderen, Roeland, Johnson, Bryan J., Querel, Richard R., Selkirk, Henry B., Stübi, Rene, Smit, Herman G. J.. (2020). A post-2013 dropoff in total ozone at a third of global ozonesonde stations: Electrochemical concentration cell instrument artifacts?. UCAR/NCAR - Library. http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7v40zfp. Accessed 11 February 2025.

Harvest Source