Monitoring Stratospheric Ozone with Lidars and other Instruments

Lidars measure stratospheric ozone and temperature and are an important component of the Network for the Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). They complement other ground-based instruments like ozone sondes, microwave radiometers, or Fourier Transform Infrared Radiometers (FTIRs). Lidars provide some of the longest stratospheric ozone records from single instruments, dating back to the late 1980s. Major advantages of the lidars are good accuracy, inherent self-calibration, and long-term stability. Here we compare lidar ozone measurements with those from other instruments. We show example profiles, as well as the long-term evolution of ozone observed by ground- and satellite-based instruments. The expected end of the microwave limb sounder satellite instrument in 2025 will leave an important gap. It makes continuation of the ground-based measurements by lidars and other NDACC instruments even more important, providing a reference for future satellite observations, but also to observe and verify the expected recovery of the ozone layer.