Each point represents a 10-day average of retrieved data.
For molecules the values plotted are the partial column amounts, i.e. the number of molecules (in Dobson Units, or milli DUs - see Wikipedia Definition) above the stated pressure surface. For Temperature it is the temperautre value at that pressure surface. Note that all Oxford retrievals to date have assumed a constant CO2 profile so these plots included an attempted correction for a gradually increasing CO2 concentration.
Different colours refer to different latitude bands, with black being the global average. Where the symbols are open (as opposed to solid) a significant amount of a priori data is included in the mean, so these points should be interpreted with particular caution. Dashed lines and figures above refer to global average values for 12 month periods.
These data should be regarded as provisional - observed features do not necessarily represent changes in the real atmosphere but may represent changes in the instrument or retrieval. In particular note that the spectral resolution and vertical scan pattern of the instrument were altered between Mar 2004 and Jan 2005, leading to different microwindows being used for the retrievals.
| Species | Lower Pressure Surface | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tem | 100mb | 30mb | 10mb | 3mb | 1mb | 0.3mb | 0.1mb |
| H2O | 100mb | 30mb | 10mb | 3mb | 1mb | 0.3mb | 0.1mb |
| O3 | 100mb | 30mb | 10mb | 3mb | 1mb | 0.3mb | 0.1mb |
| HNO3 | 100mb | 30mb | 10mb | 3mb | 1mb | ||
| CH4 | 100mb | 30mb | 10mb | 3mb | 1mb | 0.3mb | 0.1mb |
| N2O | 100mb | 30mb | 10mb | 3mb | 1mb | ||
| NO2 | 100mb | 30mb | 10mb | 3mb | 1mb | 0.3mb | 0.1mb |
| CLONO2 | 100mb | 30mb | 10mb | 3mb | 1mb | ||
| N2O5 | 100mb | 30mb | 10mb | 3mb | 1mb | ||
| F11 | 100mb | 30mb | 10mb | ||||
| F12 | 100mb | 30mb | 10mb | 3mb | |||
