Allen Kenitzer Wincel.A.Kenitzer.1@gsfc.nasa.gov (Phone: 301/286-2806)

April 8, 1997

RELEASE NO: 97-30P

MARCH 24, 1997 TOMS/ADEOS IMAGE - This false color image shows total ozone amounts in the northern hemisphere for March 24, 1997. Minimum ozone values for this day were below 220 Dobson Units over a region near the North Pole. The total ozone values were measured by the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) instrument aboard the ADEOS satellite, launched in August 1996. The color scale on the bottom of this image shows the total ozone values in Dobson units (DU). A Dobson unit is the physical thickness of the ozone layer if it were brought to the Earth surface (300 Dobson units equals 1/10th of an inch or three millimeters). The high ozone values are represented by the red and green shades while lower values are represented by the blues and purples. Ozone, a molecule made up of three atoms of oxygen comprises a thin layer in the upper atmosphere that acts as a shield against harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. The TOMS program is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., for NASA's Office of Mission to Planet Earth, Washington, D.C.