Polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs) observed by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on Aura

Backscattered ultraviolet (BUV) instruments designed for measuring stratospheric ozone profiles have proven to be robust tools for observing polar mesospheric clouds (PMCs). These measurements are available for more than 30 years and have been used to demonstrate the existence of long‐term variations in PMC occurrence frequency and brightness. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on the EOS Aura satellite provides new and improved capabilities for PMC characterization. OMI uses smaller pixels than previous BUV instruments, which increases its ability to identify PMCs and discern more spatial structure, and its wide cross‐track viewing swath provides full polar coverage up to 90° latitude every day in both hemispheres. This cross‐track coverage allows the evolution of PMC regions to be followed over several consecutive orbits. Localized PMC variations determined from OMI measurements are consistent with coincident Solar Backscatter Ultraviolet model 2 (SBUV/2) measurements. Nine seasons of PMC observations from OMI are now available and clearly demonstrate the advantages of these measurements for PMC analysis.