What time of year is the ozone hole the largest?
As there is so much chlorine in an active form at the end of the polar night (September in Antarctica) the ozone hole can grow to a size larger than the United States.
At the South Pole, ozone levels below 100 Dobson Units are now frequently observed in late September and early October.
How big is the hole in the ozone layer 2018?
Antarctic ozone today: The 2018 ozone hole has formed and ozone values continue to drop across the continent. The hole is currently above average size for the decade at 23 million square kilometres.
Is the ozone layer getting thicker or thinner?
Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. The thickness of the ozone layer varies worldwide and is generally thinner near the equator and thicker near the poles. Thickness refers to how much ozone is in a column over a given area and varies from season to season.
How big is the hole in the ozone layer 2017?
In 2016, warmer stratospheric temperatures also constrained the growth of the ozone hole. Last year, the ozone hole reached a maximum 8.9 million square miles, 2 million square miles less than in 2015. The average area of these daily ozone hole maximums observed since 1991 has been roughly 10 million square miles.
What chemicals are being blamed for damaging the ozone layer?
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other halogenated ozone depleting substances (ODS) are mainly responsible for man-made chemical ozone depletion. The total amount of effective halogens (chlorine and bromine) in the stratosphere can be calculated and are known as the equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine (EESC).
What is ozone hole Wikipedia?
Ozone is a gas that is present in the ozone layer in the stratosphere of the Earth. There, it will absorb almost all ultraviolet light which is harmful to many organisms. The term Ozone depletion can refer to a number of distinct, but related phenomena: This is generally known as ozone hole.
What is ozone layer in easy language?
The ozone layer is a layer of ozone high up in the Earth’s atmosphere stratosphere. This radiation is dangerous to many living organisms on Earth. Over the last hundred years the ozone layer has been damaged by man-made chemicals, especially ones called CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons). CFCs were used for various purposes.
Where do CFCs come from?
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are anthropogenic compounds that have been released into the atmosphere since the 1930s in various applications such as in air-conditioning, refrigeration, blowing agents in foams, insulations and packing materials, propellants in aerosol cans, and as solvents.
Is ozone a greenhouse gas?
A greenhouse gas is a gas that absorbs and emits radiant energy within the thermal infrared range. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere are water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and ozone.
What is global warming and its effects?
Global warming is projected to have a number of effects on the oceans. Ongoing effects include rising sea levels due to thermal expansion and melting of glaciers and ice sheets, and warming of the ocean surface, leading to increased temperature stratification.
How is ozone formed in the troposphere?
Formation. The majority of tropospheric ozone formation occurs when nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), react in the atmosphere in the presence of sunlight, specifically the UV spectrum. This single oxygen atom reacts with molecular oxygen O2 to produce ozone.
What is the main pollutant formed in photochemical smog?
Photochemical smog, often referred to as summer smog, is the chemical reaction of sunlight, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds in the atmosphere, which leaves airborne particles and ground-level ozone. Photochemical smog depends on primary pollutants as well as the formation of secondary pollutants.
What are the causes of global warming?
Greenhouse gases trap heat radiating from Earth to space. This heat, in the form of infrared radiation, gets absorbed and emitted by these gases in the planet’s atmosphere warming the lower atmosphere and the surface.
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