Foreword

The discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole drew world attention to the impact of human activity on the global environment and the importance of maintaining long times series of traceable measurements of total column ozone and associated variables. Long series of careful measurements of total column ozone both from the ground and space show how important it is to have a good baseline from which to assess change, as does the analysis of each specific Antarctic ozone hole event and the comparison of one year to the next. Since the unexpected increase in global total emissions of CFC-11, with the global concentration decline over 2014–16 only two-thirds of the rate it was from 2002 to 2012, the interest in the examination of the Antarctic ozone hole has not abated but continues to show light on the drivers changing our global atmosphere.

This Research Front focuses on both the assessment of specific periods in the last two decades and the impact of planetary waves on the Antarctic ozone hole. Three papers provide assessments of the specific Antarctic ozone holes during 2014 through 2017, their climatology together with complementary measurements of ultraviolet, and a fourth paper provides the trends in metrics over 2001–07. A fifth paper examines the impact of planetary waves on the 2017 Antarctic ozone hole.

In editing this series of papers, I was reminded of the view in the late 1970s that monitoring ozone amongst other things was a waste of scientific resources, despite the clear indication that atmospheric chemistry and human impact upon the atmosphere was gaining strong support in the community of environmental scientists. These series of papers demonstrate that measurements and analysis are key requirements for the continuation of the advancement of knowledge and understanding of our environment through the application of the scientific method introduced to the Western world by Francis Bacon.

Bruce W Forgan

Research Front Editor