+ Visit NASA.gov + Advanced Search   + About the Server   + Animation List   + How to Use the Server   + RSS Feeds   + Podcasts   + Opportunities Previous Animation Next Animation TOMS Ozone at the South Pole: August 1, 2000 to October 2, 2000 The year 2000's Antarctic ozone hole is the largest ever observed. Scientists continue to investigate the phenomenon, and are somewhat surprised by its scale. Using data from NASA's Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument onboard the Earth Probe satellite, researchers can evaluate and compare current conditions over the south pole to readings taken by other instruments in years past. Continued monitoring of polar ozone levels helps researchers gain a better understanding of how the planet's climate may be changing. This animation shows a huge section of the atmosphere around the south pole that's comparatively devoid of ozone. The gap reached a record size of 28.3 million kilometers squared on September 3, 2000. The previous record was 27.2 million square kilometers squared recorded on Sept. 19, 1998. Although current measurements of the ozone hole show that it has stabilized, low value points in the interior continue to decline. The lowest values are typically observed in the late September or early October.    Total ozone over the South Pole from August 1, 2000 through October 2, 2000 as measured by Earth Probe TOMS. Dark blue represents regions of very low ozone concentration in the stratosphere. Duration: 24.0 seconds Available formats:   352x240 (29.97 fps) MPEG-1   3 MB   160x80       PNG           35 KB   80x40         PNG           10 KB   320x242     JPEG         7 KB How to play our movies    Stratospheric Ozone level for September 6, 2000. Available formats:   2560 x 1920     TIFF 1 MB   320 x 240         JPEG       9 KB   80 x 40             PNG         3 KB   160 x 80           PNG       10 KB    Stratospheric Ozone level for September 10, 2000. Available formats:   2560 x 1920     TIFF 1 MB   320 x 240         JPEG       9 KB   80 x 40             PNG         3 KB    Stratospheric Ozone level for September 21, 2000. Available formats:   2880 x 1944     TIFF 1 MB   320 x 216         JPEG       9 KB   80 x 40             PNG         3 KB Animation Number: 1204 Completed: 2000-10-03 Animator: Greg Shirah (NASA/GSFC) (Lead) Scientist: Paul Newman (NASA/GSFC) Platforms/Sensors/Data Sets: Earth Probe/TOMS   Earth Probe/TOMS/Total Ozone Data Collected: 2000/08/01-2000/10/02 Series: Stratospheric Ozone Video: SVS2000-0006 * Goddard TV Tape: G2000-082A Keywords: SVS >> Antarctic DLESE >> Atmospheric science SVS >> Ozone GCMD >> Location >> Stratosphere This work has been visible on Dr. Jeffrey Masters: http://www.wunderground.com/education/ozone_skeptics.asp     Please give credit for this item to: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio *Please note: the SVS does not fulfill requests for copies of the tapes in our library. On some of our animation pages, there is a direct link to a video distribution service from which tapes, handled by the Public Affairs Office (PAO)/Goddard TV, including some of our animations may be ordered. General information on this service can be found here. Back to Top + Privacy Policy and Important Notices + Reproduction Guidelines NASA Official: Content Contact: Curator: