Balloon-borne instruments, in particular ozonesondes, have played a unique role in stratospheric ozone research, especially in ozone depletion. Balloons are able to probe the region of ozone depletion in the stratosphere and thus make measurements with in situ instruments, observing both ozone and ozone-depleting chemicals. Measurements using balloons have been important for verifying stratospheric ozone chemistry and in understanding the nature of other atmospheric constituents necessary for the occurrence of ozone depletion, for example, stratospheric aerosol particles in the form of nitric and sulfuric acid and water-ice. The list of accomplishments in ozone research by balloons is long. For example, observation of the buildup and decline of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) in the stratosphere, observations that near total ozone destruction occurred in Antarctica in a limited region around 12–20 km, multinational ozonesonde networks verifying the vertical extent of ozone depletion in Antarctica and ozone depletion chemistry in the Arctic, and large balloon campaigns verifying ozone chemistry in situ. This work summarizes the most important of these many contributions.
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Hofmann, D.J. (2009). International Balloon Measurements for Ozone Research. In: Zerefos, C., Contopoulos, G., Skalkeas, G. (eds) Twenty Years of Ozone Decline. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2469-5_11
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