TOMS provides dramatic visual evidence of the annual growth and decay of the Antarctic ozone hole. The ozone losses over Antarctica result from reactions with the products of man-made chlorine and bromine compounds. Because of the tilt of the Earths axis, continuous darkness falls at the South Pole from March 21 to September 21. The dark region in the middle of the July 1 total ozone picture is polar night, where TOMS cannot make measurements. Ozone losses are in blue. Beginning in August, returning sunlight reaches the edges of Antarctica providing chlorine and bromine compounds with energy to rapidly destroy ozone. By mid September, the ozone loss peaks, creating an ozone hole over Antarctic. For more information see www.gsfc.nasa.gov-topstory-2003-1208toms.html

A relatively warm Antarctic winter in 2004 kept the thinning of the protective ozone layer over Antarctica, known as the ozone hole, slightly smaller than in 2003. Each year the hole expands over Antarctica, sometimes reaching populated areas of South America and exposing them to ultraviolet rays normally absorbed by ozone. Scientists have new tools to study this annual phenomenon, and the human-produced compounds that contribute to ozone breakdown are decreasing. On September 22, 2004, ozone thinning over Antarctica reached its maximum extent for the year at 24.2 million square kilometers (9.4 million square miles). The largest maximum area on record was 29.2 million square kilometers, in 2000. On October 5, 2004, the ozone layer reached a low value of 99 Dobson Units.

A devastating series of fires occurred in Southern California during October 2003. The effects of these fires were detectable from space. The Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument measures aerosol particles (microscopic airborne dust and smoke). TOMS was able to detect aerosols from these fires moving West over the Pacific Ocean and East over the continental United States.

Aerosol concentrations over Indonesia from April 29, 1997 to January 13, 1998, from Earth Probe TOMS

Aerosol concentrations over Indonesia from August 7, 1997 to November 15, 1997, from Earth Probe TOMS

Aerosol concentrations over the United States and Mexico on April 17, 1998, from Earth Probe TOMS

Aerosol concentrations over the United States and Mexico on May 14, 1998, from Earth Probe TOMS

Aerosol concentrations over the United States and Mexico on May 16, 1998, from Earth Probe TOMS

Aerosol concentrations over the United States and Mexico on May 9, 1998, from Earth Probe TOMS

Saharan dust storms raise dust that is carried in the upper atmosphere across the Atlantic Ocean. That dust can land as far west as the Caribbean and the Americas. This dust can carry potentially hazardous bacteria and fungi.

Aerosol concentrations over the United States and Mexico from April 1, 1998 to May 26, 1998, from Earth Probe TOMS

Aerosol concentrations over the United States and Mexico from April 1, 1998 to May 26, 1998, from Earth Probe TOMS

Aerosol concentrations over the United States and Mexico from April 1, 1998 to May 26, 1998, from Earth Probe TOMS

Aerosol concentrations over Indonesia from March 11, 1998 to April 4, 1998, from Earth Probe TOMS

Aerosol concentrations over Borneo from February 1, 1998 to March 1, 1998 as measured by Earth Probe TOMS

Total ozone measurements from Earth Probe TOMS over Antarctica for the period July 25, 1999 through September 25, 1999

Total ozone measurements from Earth Probe TOMS over Antarctica for the period June 1998 through December 1998

The 2003 Antarctic ozone hole was the second largest ever observed, according to scientists from NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL). The Antarctic ozone hole is defined as thinning of the ozone layer over the continent to levels significantly below pre-1979 levels. Ozone blocks harmful ultraviolet B rays. Loss of stratospheric ozone has been linked to skin cancer in humans and other adverse biological effects on plants and animals. The size of the 2003 Antarctic ozone hole reached 10.9 million square miles on September 11, 2003, slightly larger than the North American continent, but smaller than the largest ever recorded, on September 10, 2000, when it covered 11.5 million square miles. This animation is an update to animation ID 2809 -- this version includes about 2 additional months of data.

Scientists from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have confirmed the ozone hole over the Antarctic this September is not only much smaller than it was in 2000 and 2001, but has split into two separate "holes"