Intercomparison of total ozone observations at Fairbanks, Alaska, during POLARIS

The pattern of seasonal ozone loss over Fairbanks, Alaska (AK), during the NASA Photochemistry of Ozone Loss in the Arctic Region In Summer (POLARIS) campaign in the spring and summer of 1997 is defined. Five independent data sets of total ozone observations at Fairbanks are presented, from the Earth Probe and ADEOS Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) satellite instruments, balloon-borne electrochemical concentration cell ozonesondes, and ground-based (Brewer spectroradiometer, Dobson spectrophotometer, and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory MkIV infrared interferometer) instruments. The excellent agreement between different observational techniques lends confidence to the observed rate of summertime loss of total ozone at high latitudes. In addition, the small offsets between the data sets are well understood.