Collecting the Data


One way to get an estimate of the health of the ozone layer in the Earth's stratosphere is to measure the amount of ultraviolet light that reaches the Earth's surface.

A simple hand-held detector, such as the one shown in the photo to the left, can be used to measure the total integrated intensity of ultraviolet light.

The expedition team has two ultraviolet detectors and will take readings with both units when observations are taken.

As the total amount of ozone (through which the sunlight must pass) decreases, the intensity of the ultraviolet light which reaches the Earth's surface increases.

Below: Sample data log entry


Transparency Master

The diagram to the left shows a typical log entry for the expedition team.

The important data included in the journal are: time (EDT), date, solar angle, weather (wx) conditions, ultraviolet intensity readings (units 1 and 2) and the location at which the measurements were made (latitude and longitude).

At the conclusion of the expedition the journal will be recovered and the data analyzed to determine the stratospheric ozone concentration in local zenith (overhead) during the expedition.

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