GOME version 2.0 total ozone obtained from July through November 1996 and correlative ground-based observations from the NDSC Alpine and complementary stations are compared. On average, the GOME and the ground-based total ozone are in close agreement. Within the limited range of solar zenith angle (SZA) and of total column observed at northern mid-latitude, the comparison does not reveal any clear dependence on the GOME SZA nor a difference in sensitivity except at ozone columns below 230 DU. From 24 January through 31 March 1997, 'near-real time' (NRT) preliminary GOME height-resolved ozone is available for the 1997 Arctic winter campaigns. It is also reported on a preliminary comparison of these NRT profiles with correlative ozone vertical distributions measured by ozonesondes from a variety of primary and complementary NDSC stations in the northern hemisphere.