Part 1—Download Software and Data

Step 1 – Download and Install ImageJ Software

ImageJ is in the public domain. It can be freely downloaded and installed on any computer including those at schools, homes, and businesses.
  1. Go to the ImageJ Download page and open it in a new window.
    ImageJ Download page

  2. Click the link that appears directly below the name of your computer's operating system (e.g., Mac, Linux, Windows). This action will transfer a compressed file of the software to your computer. Your browser should automatically expand the file, creating an ImageJ folder on your computer's hard drive.

    3. For more detailed instructions from the ImageJ website, click Installation Instructions, then select your operating system.

Note to Windows Users: It is recommended that you install ImageJ in the Documents directory, rather than in the Program Files directory. For security reasons, Windows 7 and Windows Vista do not allow programs to alter themselves by writing files to the Program Files directory. If ImageJ is installed in the Program Files directory, then the update function in Step 2 below will not work properly. In addition, if you are a Windows Vista user, be sure to choose the correct version of ImageJ (either 32-bit or 64-bit) for your computer.

Step 2 – Update or Downgrade ImageJ

ImageJ Updater Window ImageJ update dialog box.

Double-click the ImageJ icon ImageJ Icon Small to launch the application and choose Help > Update > ImageJ.... A window will appear, telling you the version you are currently running and a list of upgrade versions. Choose the version you want to upgrade to (usually the most recent, or default version) and click OK. After the update downloads, you will need to re-launch ImageJ to run the new version.


ImageJ Updater Window Options ImageJ update dialog box showing upgrade and downgrade options.

ImageJ is a professional research and analysis tool, and is under constant development. If the latest update of the application introduces new bugs or errors, or has an unfamiliar interface that does not match written instructions, you can downgrade your copy of ImageJ to an older, more stable or familiar version.

Step 3 – Request and Download Ozone Images

Go to the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) site to request (download) ozone images.

Select TIFF images for the South Pole Image request settings for October 1, 1996 TIFF image.
  1. Near the bottom of the TOMS page, under "Choose output," click the drop-down menu and choose South Pole Image - TIFF (1280 x 960).
  2. Under "Select coverage satellite," click the drop-down menu and choose Earth Probe: 7/22/1996-12/14/2005.
  3. Under "Date to be studied," set the fields to Oct 1, 1996.
  4. Click the Request button.
  5. When the image appears in your browser window, right-click it (or ctrl-click on Macs) and select Save Image As... or Save As Source... Save the image in a new folder named "TOMS Images" on your hard drive. Keep the default name for the image, or give it a name that includes the date it represents.
    1. Right-click the image (Mac users-hold down the ctrl key and click) to display a menu of choices. Select the Save Image As..., Download Image to Disk or Save As Source... (from within Quicktime Player) option to store the image on your computer.
      Saving downloading image
    2. When prompted for a location to store the image, make a new folder named TOMS Images.
    3. Keep the default image name (it tells the date), and click Save.

    NOTE: If saving or downloading the image is not an available option on your computer, see the Troubleshooting Tips below.

  6. After you've downloaded the first image, click your browser's Back button. Under "Date to be studied," change the year to 1997. Click the Request button again, then save the next image to your hard drive.
  7. Repeat step 6 until you've requested and saved TOMS images of October 1 for every year from 1996 through 2005.

    8. Just seeing the images in your browser window isn't sufficient. You must download and save each of the images to your hard drive so you can open them into the image processing software in Part 2.

    Can't Save?
    Some browsers have been set to display TIFF images within Quicktime Player, and Save Image as... is not an option. Choose Save Source As... from within Quicktime Player. If you can change the preferences of your browser to display TIFF images directly in the browser window, this may allow you to save them.

    While our goal is for you to be able to download and analyze whichever ozone images you want directly from the TOMS site, we're offering a link to a compressed folder of the necessary images so you can work through the analysis presented in this activity.

    • Download a compressed file that contains the TIFF images:
      Right-click (ctrl-click on Macs) this link to download a zipped file of the TIFF images ( 369kB Jan30 07). Choose the "Download Link to Disk" or "Save Link As..." option. Once the file downloads, you may need to double-click it to decompress it. The decompressed file will be a folder named Ozone TIFFs. Open the images from within the ImageJ application as directed in Step 1 of Part 2.

    • Alternately, if you're not successful with the link above, try this file ( 538kB Apr4 06) instead.
  8. If you experience problems obtaining ozone images, or as an alternate way to find and download more images of interest, go through the site's FTP (File Transfer Protocol) interface. This link takes you to three folders: global, npole, and spole. Choose "spole" for the Antarctic images. Once in the "spole" folder, you will need to open the correct "Year" folder and choose the date that interests you. October 1996 is shown as ".../IM_ozspl_ept_19961001.tif" Once you have located the correct image, right-click and choose File > Save Link As.....

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