The 1988 Antarctic ozone hole, as observed with the Nimbus 7 TOMS instrument, formed in August but failed to deepen significantly during September. The structure of the surrounding total ozone maxima also differed from the prior year. The 1987 total ozone pattern was pole centered and symmetrical. During 1988 a persistent strong wavenumber 1 perturbation in total ozone developed in August which resulted in displacement of the polar ozone minimum to the base of the Antarctic Peninsula. Subsequently, a series of transient mesoscale size minima formed within the broader polar minimum. In September the frequency of the transient events diminished and a larger scale decrease in polar total ozone began. The decrease lasted less than two weeks, resulting in a net change of only 25 DU compared with the nearly 100 DU decline observed during the same period in 1987. The minimum values remained roughly constant until October 19, 1988 and then increased rapidly. The 1988 Antarctic ozone hole subsequently drifted off the Antarctic continent in late October and dissipated in mid-November. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1989