The Atmospheric Science Data Center (ASDC) has released data for the Airborne Arctic Stratospheric Expedition (AASE) field campaign. AASE was a joint mission by NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmsopheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF) that occurred in two phases: AASE, which was conducted from December 1988 to February 1989, and AASE-II, which took place from August 1991 to March 1992. The NASA ER-2 and DC-8 aircraft were flown for both phases of AASE, though the objectives of each mission differed.
AASE sought to study the production and loss mechanism of ozone in the north polar stratospheric environment. AASE-II aimed to answer three questions:
- Will significant erosion of stratospheric ozone occur over the Arctic as stratospheric chlorine levels increase?
- What causes mid-latitude stratospheric ozone decreases in late fall through early summer?
- Could volcanic aerosols modify the depletion of stratospheric ozone associated with industrial halocarbons?