Aura/OMI Ozone Hole from September 12, 2004 to November 15, 2004 with Polar Vortex Demarcation

  • Released Monday, December 13th, 2004
  • Updated Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023 at 1:56PM
  • ID: 3067
Data from NASA satellites establishes a 40-year record of stratospheric ozone measurements. The stratospheric ozone layer shields life on Earth from harmful solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Research shows that excess exposure to UV radiation causes skin cancer and eye problems and impacts plant growth. Global stratospheric ozone has decreased by 3 percent globally between 1980 and 2000 and has thinned by 50 percent over Antarctica in winter and spring. Depletion of the ozone layer allows more UV radiation to reach the Earth's surface.

This animation shows the ozone layer blocking harmful UV radiation from the Earth's surface. The hole in the ozone is seen in purple. The location, size, and shape of the polar vortex is derived from potential vorticity data, PV. The PV, shown in white at 550 degrees Kelvin, is an atmospheric regional event that isolates polar air from the air at lower latitudes, producing conditions favorable for wintertime polar ozone depletion. The animation shows that most of the low-temperature and chemically-perturbed region is confined within the polar vortex during the Antarctic winter.

This animation shows Ozone over Antarctica between September 12, 2004 and November 15, 2004.

In 2004, the maximum ozone hole occurred on September 22, 2004.

In 2004, the maximum ozone hole occurred on September 22, 2004.

This animation uses this colorbar. Low ozone levels, 125 DU, are shown in purple and high ozone levels, 435 DU, are shown in red.

This animation uses this colorbar. Low ozone levels, 125 DU, are shown in purple and high ozone levels, 435 DU, are shown in red.

For More Information

See http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/aura_first.html

Credits

Please give credit for this item to:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio

Missions

This visualization is related to the following missions:

Series

This visualization can be found in the following series:

Datasets used in this visualization

Aura (Collected with the OMI sensor)
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Aura Potential Vorticity (Collected with the MLS sensor)

Derived by folks at JPL, not publicly available

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