Speaker
Description
An international effort to improve ozonesonde data quality and to reevaluate historical records has made significant improvements in the accuracy of global network data. However, between 2014 and 2016, ozonesonde total column ozone (TCO; O3) at 14 of 37 regularly reporting stations exhibited a sudden drop-off relative to satellite measurements. The ozonesonde TCO drop is 3-7 % compared to satellite and ground-based TCO, and 5-10 % or more compared to satellite stratospheric O3 profiles, compromising the use of recent data for trends, although they remain reliable for other uses. Hardware changes in the ozonesonde instrument are likely a major factor in the O3 drop-off, but no single property of the ozonesonde explains the findings. The bias remains in recent data. Research to understand the drop-off is in progress; this presentation is intended as a caution to users of the data. Our findings underscore the importance of regular ozonesonde data evaluation.
