The ozone layer is a specific area in the stratosphere of maximum ozone concentration. Ozone in the stratosphere forms naturally and protects us from damage that can be caused by solar radiation such as skin cancer. In the 1970s chemists discovered that certain chemicals could travel into the upper atmosphere and damage the protective ozone. Ever since this was discovered scientists, government, and citizens have been making efforts to control and reverse the damage done to the ozone. In 1987 a treaty called the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed by world leaders who were participating in the Vienna Convention on the Protection of the Ozone Layer. Without this protocol the abundances of chlorine would …show more content…
One particular part of the interview that was interesting to me was when the woman, Adele, called in and asked how chlorine commonly used in swimming pools affected the ozone. Russell Schnell told her that chlorine does not make it up into the stratosphere because it is oxidized. The only way that chlorine gets up into the stratosphere is if it is carried up with chemicals that it is bound to. Once it is in the stratosphere the sunlight breaks off the chlorine. I simply assumed that when someone drains their pool at the end of the summer the water would evaporate and the chlorine would then rise up into the stratosphere. From this I know now that chlorine must be bound to other chemicals in order to make it up that far. In 2011 there was record ozone depletion over the Arctic that is far worse than the holes in the Antarctic’s protective atmospheric layer that first appeared in the 1980s. There are concerns that the Northern Hemisphere may periodically experience harmful levels of ultraviolet radiation in the spring. Chemist Geir Braathen said it was “significantly worse than anything we had ever seen.” Typically spring ozone depletions maxes out at 20 to 30 percent drop but in 2011 there was a loss of about 40 percent. In Antarctica 70 percent of ozone can disappear in the spring time. The ozone layer is vital in protecting us from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation.
What are some of the chemicals that caused the ozone hole to form over the stratosphere in Antarctica?
The ozone is a form of oxygen that combines three oxygen atoms in each molecule. Its important because its like a filter. CFCS, also known as, chlorofluorocarbons are used to break up some of the ozone molecules
In the late 1970’s scientists concluded that products releasing carbonflourochloride (CFC) was causing the ozone to deplete. The ozone layer is a protective layer from the sun’s rays and depleting the ozone layer allowed the stronger, harmful to health on earth, rays to get through. International action was taken in 1987 and the Montreal Protocol came into being. It was an international treaty to phase out CFC producing products. It went into effect in 1988 and has achieved international success. Once the Montreal Protocol had been agreed to the World Health Organization released information on the harmful effects CFC’s were having on the ozone
The ozone layer surrounding our earth is slowly getting thicker allowing heat to get through but not get out this is a major concern as the world’s temperature carries on rising increasing the decline in ice. This is also drying up our water supplies making the world suffer.
In today’s society, more and more threats to the welfare of our earth and atmosphere are being discovered. Some world leaders dismiss these concerns, 1) because they choose to remain ignorant of the condition of the planet’s environment, 2) because it would cost them “too much money” to fix the problem, 3) because it is easier not to deal with the problem, or 4) they simply do not care. We cannot simply ignore these problems, for any of these reasons, because the longer we wait to address them, the more dire the situation becomes. The scientists who study these threats to our environment want to solve this issue. That’s what scientists do; they form a hypothesis and test every variable until they find a solution. Mario Molina studied the effects of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) on the ozone, finding that they aided the depletion of the ozone in earth’s upper atmosphere, just another threat to the earth’s environment.
How do CFCs or chlorofluorocarbons affect Canada’s Ozone layer. To answer this question we first have to understand chlorofluorocarbons and the earth's ozone layer. Chlorofluorocarbons are chemical compounds made up of three chlorine atoms. One fluorine atom and 1 carbon atom. There were many uses for CFCs ranging from, being used as coolants in refrigerants to propellants for aerosols to being used as solvents for dry cleaning. As CFCs are non- flammable and not very toxic we thought they were a revolutionary compound, but unfortunately CFCs were one of the leading causes for the depletion of our ozone layer. ozone is a type of oxygen, an ozone molecule consists of three oxygen atoms whereas a regular oxygen molecule only consists of two.
The ozone layer is in the Earth’s stratosphere and the necessity of this layer is to protect the Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation rays. “Since the late 1970s, an ozone hole has formed over Antarctica each austral spring (September / October), in which up to 66 percent of the total ozone is depleted” (Ozone Layer Protection). What directly causes holes in ozone are Chloroflourocarbons (CFCs), which rapidly damage the ozone layer. However, with the rising global warming temperature the CFCs’ process is catalysed, further damaging the ozone layer. “According to the estimates made by Dasgupta and Bhaumik (1995), it is likely that 10% decrease in ozone will lead to 20% increase in UV irradiance” (Gangul and Iyer 2006). Once an uncontrolled amount of UV radiation is exposed to lifeforms, especially to humans, “According to the estimates made by Vander Leun and De Gruijl (1993), 1% decrease in total stratospheric columnar ozone (SCO) will lead to 2.3% increase in non-melanoma skin cancer, 2% increase in cutaneous melanoma and 0.5% increase in the incidence of cataracts” (Gangul and Iyer 2006). More devastating effects from the depleting ozone layer are more destruction to agricultural fields, warming of oceans and increased acidity which is diminishing the amounts of phytoplankton, which can immensely affect the stability of the food chain. Therefore, the depletion of
Phrases such as “climate change” and “global warming” are often thrown around on the news and in politics; however their meaning and significance was never clear to me. I enjoyed my reading of the Susan Solomon interview because, it was very informative and easy to understand. Solomon’s outstanding achievements as a female scientist are inspiring and remarkable. Her groundbreaking studies in Antarctica concerning the ozone hole, prove to us how important it is to take care of our planet. Human produced substances known as CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) have damaged our ozone beyond repair. It is hard to believe that humans can be so careless as to destroy their own Earth. Thankfully, “the nations of the world agreed to stop producing CFCs” in 1987.
the ozone hole is a big issue in Australia, the hole cause a lot of trouble that Australia don’t want, the ozone cause skin disease, sun burn, fainted and more, in the past, there is no worries when you play outdoor, you don’t need to think that you or your kids will have a sun burn, or they may die with skin cancer, you don’t need to force your kids to where a hat to prevent sunburn or skin cancer. The ozone layer is harm in the industrial revolution, and when the ozone layer was broke, things change,.
It has been proven that the Earth’s atmosphere blocks 98.7 percent of the sun’s UV rays. The other 2.3 percent that we are exposed to, have both beneficial and harmful effects. We do need to focus on the benefits, because we have way more of them. The only harm it does to our body is skin cancer, which by being more careful we can protect from. The
These chemicals, once released, take quite a long time to degrade. It takes them years to move through the atmosphere to the location of the ozone layer. These chemicals are broken down by the ultra violet rays from the sun ultimately breaking down into chlorine and bromide molecules which are responsible for the destruction of the ozone layer. Ozone layer is found in two layers i.e. the “good” and “bad” ozone layer (Filder 131). The bromide and chloride atoms destroy the “good” ozone. One molecule of chlorine is estimated to be capable of
"Scientists agree that the main reason for global warming is the depletion of the ozone layer
Many of us might not understand how important the ozone layer is to our planet. So that is why we should take more care of our environment so we don’t deplete our ozone layer even more. To some this topic may not be important and they don’t understand what affects these dangerous chemicals can have on our environment. Hopefully reading this they will want to take better care of our planet for our future generations.
With respect to the ozone response to stratospheric geoengineering, we now have new information that will need to be further investigated outside of computer simulations to determine the true impact of stratospheric geoengineering on the ozone layer.
Ozone depletion, greenhouse effect, and acid rain are man-made disasters. The ozone layer is the part of the Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3). The cause of ozone depletion is the presence of Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and related halocarbons gases in the atmosphere. In the presence of Ultraviolet light, these gases dissociate, releasing chlorine atoms, which then go on to catalyze ozone destruction. The greenhouse effect, on the other hand, is a natural warming process of the earth. When the sun's energy reaches the earth some of it is reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed. The absorbed energy warms the earth's surface which then emits heat energy back toward space as longwave