Measuring the ozone hole with ERS/GOME


South Pole ozone hole, 21 September (ESA/KNMI)
 
Ozone hole over the South Pole, 21 September 2000
 
15 December 2000
 
Ozone plays a vital role in protecting the Earth from the Sun's harmful ultra-violet rays. Any lessening of this protective layer is potentially worrying. The first signs of ozone depletion over the Arctic were discovered in 1996 by the European Earth observation satellite ERS.
 
The GOME instrument onboard ERS has enabled scientists to make long-term measurements of the atmospheric ozone. Data from the GOME instrument show how the ozone in the Earth's atmosphere changes with time.

View the ESA Television video at: http://television.esa.int/photos/ozone2000.mpg
  
 

Related news

 •  Satellite sniffs out chemical traces of atmospheric pollution (http://www.esa.int/esaCP/GGGDV4TZ0GC_index_0.html)
 •  New European capabilities for monitoring the ozone hole presented in Gothenburg, 16-20 October (http://www.esa.int/esaCP/GGGTXV8RVDC_Protecting_0.html)

Related links

 •  Measuring the ozone hole with ERS/GOME (http://television.esa.int/photos/ozone2000.mpg)
 •  Ozone hole South Pole Autumn 2000 (MPEG 2.5 Mb - KNMI) (http://www.knmi.nl/gome_fd/output.mpg)
 •  Latest ozone images from KNMI/ESA (http://www.knmi.nl/gome_fd/tm3/lvl4.html)
 •  GOME homepage (http://earth.esrin.esa.it/ers/eeo4.96)
 •  GOME at DLR (http://auc.dfd.dlr.de/GOME/index.html)
 •  ERS homepage (http://earth.esa.int/ers)
 •  Earthnet (http://earthnet.esrin.esa.it)
 •  Observing the Earth (http://www.esa.int/esaSA/earth.html)