In 2019, abnormal weather patterns in the upper atmosphere over Antarctica dramatically limited ozone depletion, leading to the smallest hole since 1982.
When was the ozone hole the smallest?
Abnormal weather patterns in the upper atmosphere over Antarctica dramatically limited ozone depletion in September and October 2019, resulting in the smallest ozone hole since 1982, NASA and NOAA scientists reported.
Why was the ozone hole so small in 2002?
The researchers stressed the smaller hole is due to this year’s peculiar stratospheric weather patterns and that a single year’s unusual pattern does not make a long-term trend.
Is the ozone hole shrinking 2020?
Ozone depletion over the Arctic in 2020 was so severe that most of the ozone at an altitude of around 11 miles had been depleted. Researchers said the last time a similarly strong chemical ozone depletion was observed over the Arctic was in spring 2011.
Has the size of ozone hole changed in recent years?
Analyses show that the hole has reached its maximum size. The 2020 ozone hole grew rapidly from mid-August and peaked at around 24 million square kilometres in early October. It now covers 23 million km2, above average for the last decade and spreading over most of the Antarctic continent.
Is the ozone layer closing up?
The Antarctic ozone hole — one of the deepest, largest gap in the ozone layer in the last 40 years — has closed,according to World Meteorological Organization (WMO) January 6, 2021. … An ozone hole is the thinning of the ozone layer boosted in size by colder temperatures.
Who discovered the ozone hole?
The discovery of the Antarctic “ozone hole” by British Antarctic Survey scientists Farman, Gardiner and Shanklin (first reported in a paper in Nature in May 1985) came as a shock to the scientific community, because the observed decline in polar ozone was far larger than anyone had anticipated.
Is the ozone layer healing 2020 NASA?
In December 2019 and January through March of 2020, the stratospheric wave events were weak and did not disrupt the polar winds. … Chlorofluorocarbons are long-lived compounds that take decades to break down, and scientists expect stratospheric ozone levels to recover to 1980 levels by mid-century.
Where is ozone hole?
The 2020 Antarctic ozone hole grew rapidly from mid-August and peaked at around 24.8 million square kilometres on 20 September 2020, spreading over most of the Antarctic continent. It was the longest-lasting and one of the largest and deepest holes since the ozone layer monitoring began 40 years ago.
How big is the hole in the ozone layer?
According to the World Meteorological Organization, the ozone layer hole over Antarctica is one of the largest and deepest in the past 15 years. The hole peaked at 24 million square kilometers (approximately 9.3 million square miles).
Where is the largest ozone hole located?
The annual Antarctic ozone hole – the 12th-largest on record – reached its peak size for 2020 on September 20, at about 9.6 million square miles (24.8 million square km), roughly three times the area of the continental United States, Observations revealed the nearly complete elimination of ozone in a 4-mile-high (6-km- …
Can the ozone layer repair itself?
An April 27 India Times article says that an uncommonly large hole in the ozone layer appeared above the Arctic and healed itself in April. Scientists at the Copernicus’ Atmospheric Monitoring Service tracking the “rather unusual” ozone hole announced April 23 on Twitter that it had healed.
Is the ozone layer growing or shrinking?
Due to an environmental agreement called the Montreal Protocol, the amount of chlorine and bromine in the atmosphere has been greatly reduced, which has resulted in the overall shrinking of the ozone layer hole. Levels have fallen 16% since 2000.
What country has the worst ozone layer?
Antarctica, where ozone depletion has been most severe due to very low temperatures is expected to recover much more slowly. It’s projected that Antarctic ozone concentrations will only begin to approach 1960 levels by the end of the century.
Why does NZ have no ozone layer?
In the mid 1980s, concern about the ozone layer led scientists to discover that it had been thinning over Antarctica for many years. This thinning is often called the ‘ozone hole’. … During its breakup phase in the early summer, pockets of ozone-poor air can drift to New Zealand.
How big was the ozone hole in 1985?
The maximum depth of the hole that year was 194 Dobson Units (DU)—not far below the previous historical low. For several years, the minimum concentrations stayed in the 190s, but then the minimums rapidly grew deeper: 173 DU in 1982, 154 in 1983, 124 in 1985.