Stratospheric ozone profiles from Mauna Kea, Hawai'i (19.8°N, 155.5°W) using infrared heterodyne spectroscopy, 1988–2003

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We present stratospheric ozone abundance profiles retrieved from absorption spectroscopy of the atmosphere backlit by thermal continuum emission of the Moon. Infrared heterodyne spectra at 9.6 μm at a resolving power of λ/Δλ ≥ 10 6 have been acquired on many occasions between 1988 and 2003 from the NASA Infrared Telescope Facility on Mauna Kea, Hawai'i. IR heterodyne spectroscopy provides a passive probe of terrestrial ozone distribution in the 25–50 km region of the stratosphere with the potential to retrieve altitude‐resolved profiles of temperature and abundance. Retrieved ozone profiles are compared with those obtained nearby using active and in situ means (lidar, ozonesonde) with good agreement (≤0.1 ppmv) in the lower stratosphere and with differences ranging from 0 to 1 ppmv in the upper stratosphere.