The Statistical Prediction of the Vertical Ozone Distribution

Abstract

Total ozone amounts and spectral measurements of backscattered ultraviolet radiation received by a satellite are used as statistical predictors of the vertical ozone distribution at Boulder, Colo. The distribution is represented 1) by the actual partial pressures at 42 atmospheric levels and 2) by eigenvectors. Both approaches yield essentially identical results, explaining 45% of the total variance of 72 dependent ozone soundings and 30% of the variance of 11 independent soundings. For the independent data, little improvement is achieved by adding the spectral measurements to total ozone as the single predictor.