Everything You Need to Know About the Arctic Ozone Hole

Last calendar week , we learned thatan ozone hole had form above the North Polefor the first time ever . But what exactly is an ozone hole , why are they so dangerous , and what can we do to fix them ?

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To determine out the response to these questions , we went right to the generator , and interviewed some of the research worker at NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory who attain the ozone hole that formed last winter in the Arctic Circle . We asked them all our burning question about the ozone layer and what ’s materialize to it . Now , with some expert assistance , we ’ve got the answer .

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The ozone bed is locate in the small dower of the stratosphere , about 12 to 20 miles above our the Earth ’s surface . First key out in 1913 by French physicists Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson , the ozone layer acts as a buckler against the Sun ’s high frequency ultraviolet igniter , which in excess quantities can be negative to aliveness on Earth . The ozone stratum assimilate about 97 % to 99 % of all ultraviolet light radiation that enters Earth ’s atmosphere .

Ozone itself is a molecule composed of three oxygen corpuscle ( O3 ) , whereas the oxygen we suspire is a mote pen of two atomic number 8 atom ( O2 ) . Together , these two atom form what ’s known as the ozone - oxygen cycle . As ultraviolet sparkle enters the stratosphere , oxygen speck absorb the ultraviolet light vigor and employ it to break aside into two freestanding atomic number 8 atoms . These free atom then conflate with O molecules to form ozone . The ultraviolet illumination illumination then coin the ozone molecules , which break apart into one oxygen particle and a devoid oxygen speck , which proceed the physical process going , all the while absorb the UV radiation before it can reach the airfoil .

The problems start when there ’s an inflow of what ’s make love as devoid radical accelerator , which include nitric oxide , nitric oxide , hydroxyl , chlorine , and bromine . All these are capable of breaking apart the ozone molecules so that they can no longer plunge UV light , allowing the radiation to reach Earth in far greater quantities . The utilisation of CFC , or CFCs , in the late twentieth century caused massive damage to the ozone layer , as these man - made compounds are extremely static and unusually open of surviving the journeying to the stratosphere .

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These have been banned since 1987 , but ozone stratum have continued to drop by as much as 4 % a year , and the diametrical regions have seen significant seasonal declines during the winter months . During these periods , certain regions see immense drops in the density of ozone mote , which creates what ’s know as an ozone hole . We ’ve known about an ozone hollow over Antarctica since 1985 , but it ’s only now that scientists have identify one over the Arctic as well .

There actually is n’t a rigid scientific definition for what name an ozone hole . The term suggests a gap in the ozone layer – basically , an factual ozone - free hole in the ambience – but it ’s a bit more insidious than that . An ozone hole is really an orbit where ozone density has dropped below a certain critical baseline .

Ozone density in the ambiance is measured in Dobson units ( DU ) , describe for Oxford meteorologist Gordon Dobson ( pictured at left ) , who carried out pioneering research into the ozone level in the first half of the twentieth C . One DU is tantamount to a density of 269 quintillion ozone molecules per square meter .

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In the Antarctic , scientists often employ 220 DU as the service line for what form an ozone mess , as that was the minimum ozone density recorded before the ozone bed began to thin in the 1980s . south-polar ozone denseness typically reaches around 350 DU during springtime , while the denseness inside the Antarctic ozone hole can attain as little as 100 DU .

That ’s all well and good for Antarctic , but that definition of an ozone hole ca n’t only be transplanted to the Arctic , because the two diametrical regions have very different baselines for ozone density . Michelle Santee , a research worker at NASA ’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and a coauthor of the Nature newspaper , explained to us what the problems are :

The same “ definition ” of an ozone hole can not be applied in the Arctic , where unperturbed spring time value are naturally much mellow ( about 450 DU ) because of dynamic processes . In 2011 , minimum total ozone drop to about 220 - 230 DU for about a week in late March , and total ozone values were endlessly below 250 DU ( incriminate a declamatory decrease from “ normal ” than is want to reach 220 DU in the Antarctic ) for nearly a calendar month .

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Because scientist have n’t see to it an Arctic ozone pickle before , and because what constitutes an Arctic ozone kettle of fish is needs different from what constitute its south-polar counterpart , there ’s beendisagreement in the scientific communityabout whether the drops in density last winter really institute an ozone hole . Santee suggests that this is , at least to some extent , a matter of semantics . She and her fellow researchers feel comfortable submit in their theme that last wintertime ’s ozone release could “ sensibly be describe as an Arctic ozone hole ” , but even if one disagrees with that particular conclusion , this still represents a serious drop .

The ozone release last winter represented a significantly greater cliff in ozone concentration than had been observed previously in the Arctic . Michelle Santee gave us this utilitarian overview of both how last winter fit in with retiring Arctic winters and how it line up with the account of south-polar ozone depletion :

In natural spring 2011 we observed stratospheric ozone destruction in the Arctic of unprecedented severity . Ozone expiration took position at altitudes from about 14 to 23 km ( 9 to 14 mil ) above the Earth ’s open , and more than 80 % of the ozone present in January at 18 - 20 kilometer ( ~11 - 12 miles ) had been chemically destroyed by late March . There have been other years with large ozone loss in the Arctic ( for instance , 2005 , 2000 , 1996 ) , but no previous year rival 2011 , when the ozone exit over the Arctic was comparable to that in some early south-polar ozone hole ( e.g. , 1985 ) .

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What does that mean going forward ? It ’s gruelling to predict , because the story of ozone depletion is extremely pendant on larger weather patterns . The Arctic , in particular , is dependent to massive twelvemonth - to - class fluctuations in the severity of its winter . tender winters intend very little ozone expiration , while a in particular cold wintertime could create another ozone hole . Santee explains :

Winters in the Arctic stratosphere are highly variable . The retiring decade has let in some of the warmest winters in the data-based disc , with minimum ozone loss , and also the two coldest winter with the big ozone losses . At present we have no capability to anticipate , even at the start of the season , which winter will wrench out to be exceptionally or persistently cold-blooded in the stratosphere . Thus next year could play minuscule or no ozone loss in the Arctic , or another book - setting ozone hole .

But these weather patterns do n’t just fluctuate randomly . It may seem paradoxical , but global warming tend to create colder conditions in stratosphere , which causes more speedy depletion of the ozone layer . Santee pointed out that scientists have n’t yet once and for all shown that mood change causes cold Arctic wintertime to get even colder , but we have indeed view broadly speaking more uttermost Arctic winters in the last few years . The 2011 winter was only more or less more uttermost than those before it , and yet we watch substantial depletion of the ozone layer . That might well suggest that even moderate cooling of the stratosphere could trigger severe ozone depletion in future .

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I ’ve been referring to this as the Arctic ozone hole , but the “ Arctic ” part is n’t strictly accurate . The location of the ozone maw perpetually impress about due to changing weather conditions , and these can and did take the 2011 ozone hole outside the confines of the Arctic roofy . Santee explained this unconscious process to us :

The chemic reactions that destruct ozone mainly take place within what is call the polar “ vortex ” , a stratospheric wind pattern present over the polar region during the winter month that act to isolate the frigid air inside from the palisade air . The Arctic vortex is highly mobile , move around from day to 24-hour interval as the wind pattern change in space and clock time , often becoming distorted and elongated or shifting well off the pole . When that occur , the low - ozone region confined within it can roam over densely - populated northern regions . In 2011 , the Arctic vortex did temporarily move over parts of northern Europe , Russia , and Mongolia .

To put that in perspective , Mongolia ’s northernmost point is at 52 degrees Second Earl of Guilford latitude , a good fourteen degrees of parallel of latitude south of the Arctic Circle . There ’s far more landmass in the northern regions around the Arctic Circle than around Antarctica , which means the Arctic ozone hole has far more possible than its opposite number to vagabond over mellow population areas .

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That is n’t good word , patently , but it also should n’t be a crusade of undue alarm . The constant exchange wind patterns mean the ozone jam does n’t ride out over any one surface area for very long , and the short - term effects of the heightened ultraviolet light radiation in that particular area is likely to be marginal compared to the more worldwide gain in global ultraviolet light exposure . Santee Sioux explains :

We do not want to rear undue alarm about the wellness logical implication of the topically thinner stratospheric ozone stratum during this specific installment . In 2011 , overhead ozone was much lower than normal springtime level in the Arctic , but only for a abbreviated interval in late March .

As for the more general biological effects … well , the reliable answer is that scientist are n’t sure yet . Ozone depletion has definitely top to increased ultraviolet exposure , and this may well be responsible for greater incidence of certain forms of skin cancer and cataract , not to mention damage to plants , plankton , and a image of other animals .

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However , these are such crowing trends and there are so many variable to consider that it ’s unmanageable to establish unclouded and concrete links between these wellness risks and the depletion of the ozone layer . Taking general , common sense steps to keep unnecessary exposure to ultraviolet radiation therapy is always a good estimation – such as wearing sunscreen and sunglasses – but the Arctic ozone hole probably does n’t drastically increase the need for these care . They ’re just thing we really ought to be doing anyway .

It would be nice to have a way to fix the ozone hollow , but it appear the damage has pretty much already been done , and all we can do now is assay to not make things worse and give the ozone layer time to repair itself . Humans in all likelihood did the most we could do to protect the ozone layer way back in 1987 with the passage of the Montreal Protocol , which ostracize ozone - depleting substances like CFCs . The problem is that all the CFCs already released into the atmosphere are still up there , and will care stay in the aura for ten to get along . As long as that remains the case , we ’re probably go to remain vulnerable to severe ozone depletion .

Since we ’re always concerned in futuristic solvent , we asked Santee whether an answer might be find out in geo - technology or other fresh approaching . Unfortunately , she does n’t see much hope of find an artificial way to reconstruct the ozone golf hole :

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As for the possibility of geoengineering a root to the ozone muddle , in gain to the risk of unintended import ( think of that CFCs were thought to be whole benign when they were first invented ! ) , there are insurmountable hard-nosed and technical difficulties . A one - fourth dimension injection of manufactured ozone to the stratosphere would not furbish up the natural balance because the contribute ozone would simply be destroyed in the same chemical summons that cause the ozone hole ; thus any addition to the ozone layer would postulate to be with child and uninterrupted so long as anthropogenic ( man - caused ) ozone - deplete substances persevere in the stratosphere .

Moreover , the vigour required to raise the needed amount of ozone would be far too pricey ( it would be a substantial fraction of the electrical power generated every year in the U.S. ) . Finally , although the stratospheric ozone layer is essential for lifetime on earth , ozone is volatile and highly toxic in large quantities , and desirable methods for storing and delivering it to the stratosphere have not been explicate ( and would have tie in energy and environmental costs themselves ) .

So it look like there ’s no nimble muddle to this problem . We ’re just run short to have to do our best to look after the Earth and deal with the effects of ozone depletion as they come . We can at least strain to proceed with as much knowledge about this ongoing issue as possible .

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