Timeseries of Ozone Partial Pressure Since 1985
From 1985 to 1992 regular ozone soundings have been performed at Georg Forster Station (70°46'S, 11°41'E). In the beginning of 1992, this ozone sounding program was moved to Neumayer Station (70°39'S, 8°15'W), which was situated at the same latitude 750 km further west. ECC 5A/6A sensors mounted on RS80/RS90/RS92 radiosondes were released about weekly. Since February 2009 the the program is ongoing at Neumayer_III built 6 km south of Neumayer Station. The results of all 3 stations can be regarded as one timeseries, as shown in the attached diagrams.
The ozone partial pressure in the troposphere - taken at 850 hPa - has a rather sinusoidal shaped annual variation with maximum values of about 4 mPa during austral winter and minimum values of about 1 mPa during austral spring.
The values taken at 70 hPa - which corresponds to a height of about 17 km - represent the ozone values in the stratospheric ozone layer. The ozone depletion - occurring during austral spring - can be recognized clearly. The year to year variations are remarkable. The full dataset of all profiles is also shown as an isoline diagram.
Within the last 20 years the seasonal averaged ozone partial pressure at 70 hPa shows a remarkable trend during austral spring (September - November). In close correlation to this ozone depletion the stratospheric temperatures are decreasing. During austral autumn (January - March) no comparable trends are observed.
