Abstract. The amplitude behaviour of the geodesic acoustic mode (GAM), a low frequency (5 − 25 kHz) coherent plasma turbulence-generated E r × B zonal flow oscillation, is studied in the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak using Doppler reflectometry. Across the tokamak edge the GAM displays one or more maxima a few cm wide, coinciding with radial plateaus in the GAM frequency, suggesting nested zonal flow layers. The GAM peak amplitude ranges between 0.2 − 0.8 km s −1 , corresponding to several tens of percent of the mean E × B flow velocity. In limiter configurations the GAM amplitude is found to decrease inversely with the plasma vertical elongation 1.1 < κ < 1.4, but rises again in X-point divertor configurations at higher κ ∼ 1.6. At low κ the GAM amplitude increases with the safety factor q, consistent with damping effects, but becomes less sensitive to q at high κ. A positive linear dependence on the electron temperature gradient, an indicator of the linear turbulence drive, is also observed.