Stratospheric Ozone Maps

Ozone measurements from the Reading and Lerwick monitoring stations are transmitted daily to the World Ozone and Ultraviolet Radiation Data Centre (WOUDC), where they are combined with other global ground-based measurements and satellite data to carry out real-time mapping as illustrated below.

WOUDC Northern Hemisphere Ozone Map

In addition to ground based monitoring of stratospheric ozone, many measurements are made by satellites in orbit above The Earth providing high resolution assessment of regional or global patterns in Ozone. The ground-based measurements are critical in validating the mapped data generated from the satellite view, especially at locations where the satellite flight passes over a ground-based monitoring location. Without validation based on well managed and quality assured ground based measurements, the results from satellite data would be highly uncertain.

The links described below include measurements made by satellite instruments. Each of the four ozone maps available for download from this page, shows some representation of the stratospheric ozone levels in the northern hemisphere. For this reason, they compare well and are fairly consistent - the pattern of low ozone 'holes' and high ozone areas is plainly visible in each of them. The GOME map shows a three dimensional representation of the earth, centred on the Atlantic ocean in the Northern Hemisphere. It is useful for seeing continuous changes in stratospheric ozone (represented according to colour) over North America, the Arctic, Europe and North Africa. On this map, levels in Central Europe, Asia and the Far East are not visible. The data scale runs from 200 to 400 dobson units.

The other three maps show the Northern Hemisphere, centered on the North Pole from nadir-view. The OMI map shows values from under 100 to over 500 Dobson units, as does the NOAA BUV/2 map. The WOUDC map uses values from 100 Dobson units to over 600 Dobson Units and is therefore the best map for representing very high levels.

Select a map from the links below (please be aware that these maps may be slow to download due to their size and complexity):