Ozone from soundings: A vital element of regional and global measurement strategies

Satellite instruments measuring ozone, predictive models of atmospheric trace gases, and models employing assimilation require well-resolved, accurate, and precise ozone profiles in the stratosphere and troposphere. These are provided by the ozonesonde instrument, typically an electrochemical concentration cell device flown on a balloon with a standard radiosonde. The design elements of a successful network of ozonesondes in the tropics (SHADOZ = Southern Hemisphere Additional Ozonesondes; Thompson et al., 2003a,b) are described. Sondes are a vital component of a sensor web as described by Schoeberl and Talabac [this volume] because profile variability can optimize retrieval accuracy as air mass types change. More generally, combined with assimilation, profiles from sondes and aircraft, as well as ground-based measurements are essential for accurate global measurement of tropospheric ozone.