edu.ucar.opensky::articles:43320 UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact 2025-12-24T17:54:36.849645 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) https://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d76d5zd0 The imminent data desert: The future of stratospheric monitoring in a rapidly changing world 2025-03-01T00:00:00Z publication https://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d76d5zd0 https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-23-0281.1 Salawitch, R. J. author Smith, J. B. author Selkirk, H. author Wargan, K. author Chipperfield, M. P. author Hossaini, R. author Levelt, Pieternel author Livesey, N. J. author McBride, L. A. author Millán, L. F. author Moyer, E. author Santee, M. L. author Schoeberl, M. R. author Solomon, S. author Stone, K. author Worden, Helen M. author UCAR/NCAR - Library publisher The Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment&#8211;Fourier Transform Spectrometer (ACE-FTS) on SCISAT-1 and Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) on NASA&#8217;s Aura satellite have contributed significantly to understanding the impacts of human activities on the stratospheric ozone layer. The two-decade-long data record from these instruments has allowed quantification of ozone depletion caused by human-released ozone-depleting substances, the effects of extreme natural events like major volcanic eruptions including Hunga in 2022, and events amplified by human-caused climate change such as wildfires that inject material into the stratosphere, as happened over Australia in early 2020. The Aura platform is nearing the end of its operational lifetime, and SCISAT-1 is over 20 years old. Their decommissioning will cause a substantial gap in the measurement of critical atmospheric components, including water vapor, inorganic chlorine species, and tracers of stratospheric transport. This upcoming &#8220;data desert&#8221; poses significant challenges for monitoring the recovery of the ozone layer and assessing the effects on stratospheric composition of future extreme events, threats posed by increases in space debris from satellite burn-up, and the possible injection of stratospheric aerosol to mitigate global warming. The lack of confirmed future missions that can provide daily near-global profile measurements of stratospheric composition highlights the need for observational strategies to bridge this impending gap. This paper discusses the essential role of ACE-FTS and MLS in advancing our understanding of the stratosphere, the impact of data loss after the cessation of one or both instruments, and the urgency of developing strategies for mitigating the impact of these observational losses at a time marked by dramatic changes in the stratosphere due to human and natural factors. UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact PDF Text theme Resource Type 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z publication <span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;" data-sheets-root="1">Copyright 2025 American Meteorological Society (AMS).</span> None eng geoscientificInformation