Ozone satellite monitoring

Ziemke J.R., Herman J.R., Stanford J.L. and Bhartia P.K., Total ozone/UVB monitoring and forecasting Impact of clouds and the horizontal resolution of satellite retrievals, J. Geophys Res., 103, 3865-3871, 1998. 

The ozone layer protects Earth s surface from damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Therefore, if the concentration of ozone in the stratosphere decreases substantially, more UV radiation wiU reach Earth s surface, causing unwanted photochemical reactions, including reactions correlated with skin cancer. Satellite monitoring of ozone, which began in 1978, has revealed a depletion of ozone in the stratosphere that is particularly severe over Antarctica, a phenomenon known as the ozone hole ( FIGURE 18.6). The first scientific paper on this phenomenon appeared in 1985, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) maintains an Ozone Hole Watch website with daily updates and data from 1999 to the present. 

Most widely used space bom measurement for the wildfire studies is MODIS. There are two MODIS s onboard satellites and they cover the Earth s surface every 1-2 days. MODIS gives information on the location of fires and also on the optical properties of aerosol. Optical properties of the smoke particles have also been studied by using the ozone monitoring instrument [32] onboard EOS-Aura satellite. Cloud-aerosol lidar with orthogonal polarization provided the vertical profile of the plume during the smoke episode in 2010 [32], In addition to comparison with ground-based instruments, the data from the space bom instruments has been used in the modeling of smoke plumes (e.g., [10]). 

ENVISAT Orbital polar ESA satellite to study the atmosphere, oceans, land, and ice, launched on March 1, 2002 and equipped with the spectrometer SCIAMACHY. It has ten measuring systems to monitor global warming, ozone holes, and to detect zones of desertification. 

Satellite observations have added much to our understanding of the morphology of atmospheric ozone, both in terms of its altitude profile and total column density (see Box 5.3). For example, early observations by the Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer (BUV) on board Nimbus 4, as well as by the Limb Infrared Monitor of the Stratosphere (LIMS), and the Solar and Backscatter Ultraviolet Spectrometer (SBUV) on board Nimbus 7 led to the first global view of the distribution of ozone... 

Measurements from satellite instraments have allowed one to monitor the global ozone shield since the late 1970s. 

An ozone monitor is an example of a continuous emission sampler based on absorption spectroscopy. A drop in beam intensity is proportional to ozone concentration in the chamber. Absorption spectrometers exist for sulfur and nitrogen oxides. This type of technology is portable and relatively inexpensive to run and can be used under field conditions, for example monitoring in-use emissions of motor vehicles. Absorption spectroscopy is also used in satellite remote sensing and has been adapted to remote sensing devices deployed on the ground to measure vehicular emissions. 

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