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NASA's Aura Spacecraft Measures Unusual 2005 Ozone Arctic Conditions

Aura's Microwave Limb Sounder Estimates of Ozone Loss, 2004/2005 Arctic Winter
series of globes illustrating estimated ozone loss for arctic winter, 2004-2005


Image credit: NASA/JPL.
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Microwave Limb Sounder Measurements Depicting the Relationship Between Nitrous Oxide Levels and Ozone Loss, 2004-2005 Arctic Winter
top row shows data from microwave limb sounder for nitrous oxide levels and lower row  shows levels for ozone, also from microwave limb sounder

Image above: Aura's Microwave Limb Sounder measures nitrous oxide, which is unaffected by stratospheric chemical processes. By studying changes in its levels, scientists can better understand how air is moving around and how ozone is affected by that air motion, allowing them to differentiate those changes from the ones caused by chemical ozone destruction.

Image credit: NASA/JPL.
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Animation: Interaction Between Temperatures and Chemicals Involved in Ozone Destruction, 2004-2005 Arctic Winter
graphic showing interaction temperatures and chemicals involved in ozone destruction
+ Ozone animation

Image credit: NASA/JPL.
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Selected Measurements of Total Arctic Column Ozone Amounts from Aura's Ozone Monitoring Instrument, 2004-2005 Arctic Winter
data from Aura showing ozone in January and March 2005, and March 11, 2005 Image left: Images from Aura's Ozone Monitoring Instrument showing the average total column ozone during the months of January and March, and the total column ozone on the single day of 11 March.

Image credit: NASA/JPL/Agency for Aerospace Programs (Netherlands)/Finnish Meteorological Institute .
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