Dobson Unit - Definition

The illustration above shows a column of air, 10 deg x 5 deg, over Labrador, Canada. The amount of ozone in this column (i.e. covering the 10 x 5 deg area) is conveniently measured in Dobson Units.

If all the ozone in this column were to be compressed to standard temperature and pressure (STP) (0 deg C and 1 atmosphere pressure) and spread out evenly over the area, it would form a slab approximately 3mm thick.

1 Dobson Unit (DU) is defined to be 0.01 mm thickness at STP; the ozone layer over Labrador then is 300 DU.

The unit is named after G.M.B. Dobson, one of the first scientists to investigate atmospheric ozone (~1920 - 1960). He designed the 'Dobson Spectrometer' - the standard instrument used to measure ozone from the ground. The Dobson spectrometer measures the intensity of solar UV radiation at four wavelengths, two of which are absorbed by ozone and two of which are not.

© 1998. Centre for Atmospheric Science, Cambridge University, UK. No text or graphics can be used or reproduced without explicit written permission. This version designed and maintained by Dr. Glenn Carver. Original concept and design Owen Garrett.