Airborne measurements of stratospheric constituents over Antarctica in the Austral Spring 1987: 1. Method and ozone observations

We have flown a Fourier transform spectrometer aboard a DC‐8 on 10 flights over Antarctica during August and September, 1987, as part of the Airborne Antarctic Ozone Experiment (AAOE). Observing the Sun at infrared wavelengths, we determined the integrated column amount above the flight altitude for ozone and a number of other chemical species that are believed to be important in the perturbed chemistry of the “ozone hole”. In this paper we describe the method, the observations, the data analysis procedure, and the ozone results. During the observation period, ozone developed a steep gradient near the edge of the polar vortex; deep within the vortex, the average ozone column decreased by about 1.6% per day during September.