Abstract
Seasonal ozone depletion in the polar regions (during late winter and
early spring) depends on the presence and distribution of polar
stratospheric clouds (PSCs). In this paper, we present new satellite
observations of PSCs by the Ozone Mapping and Profiler Suite (OMPS) Limb
Profiler (LP) instrument. LP cloud detections are identified as PSCs
based on location, altitude, and background atmosphere temperature. The
hyperspectral capabilities of OMPS LP enable PSC detection to occur
concurrent with stratospheric ozone measurements from the same
instrument. We present PSC results from the Northern Hemisphere
2019-2010 winter/spring season to illustrate the exceptional nature of
this season. Future OMPS LP instruments flying on Joint Polar Satellite
System (JPSS) satellites will continue PSC observations into the 2030s.