Ozone Layer Depletion
Ozone Layer Depletion
ON
By
JAYAN GENESIUS JOSEPH
TE-INFORMATION TECNOLOGY
ROLL NO- 14
Introduction to OZONE LAYER DEPLETION
Ozone is a colorless gas found in the upper atmosphere of the Earth and
formed by the action of ultraviolet radiation on oxygen. Ozone forms a
layer in the stratosphere, which protects life on Earth from the harmful
effects of ultraviolet radiation
Today, one of the most discussed and serious environmental issues are
the ozone layer depletion, the layer of gas that forms a protective
covering in the Earth's upper atmosphere. Ozone is formed when oxygen
molecules absorb ultraviolet photons and undergo a chemical reaction
known as photo dissociation or photolysis, where a single molecule of
oxygen breaks down to two oxygen atoms. The free oxygen atom (O),
then combines with an oxygen molecule (O2) and forms a molecule of
ozone (O3). The ozone molecules in turn absorb ultraviolet rays between
310 to 200 nm wavelengths and thereby prevent these harmful radiations
from entering the Earth's atmosphere. In the process, ozone molecules
split up into a molecule of oxygen and an oxygen atom. The oxygen
atom (O) again combines with the oxygen molecule (O2) to regenerate
an ozone (O3) molecule. Thus, the total amount of ozone is maintained
by this continuous process of destruction and regeneration.
Ozone layer depletion first captured the attention of the whole world in
the later half of 1970 and since then, many discussions and researches
have been carried out to find out the possible effects and the causes of
ozone depletion. Many studies have also been directed to find out a
possible solution.
The detailed mechanism by which the polar ozone holes form is
different from that for the mid-latitude thinning, but the most important
process in both trends is catalytic destruction of ozone by atomic
chlorine and bromine. The main source of these halogen atoms in the
stratosphere is photodissociation of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)
compounds, commonly called freons, and of bromofluorocarbon
compounds known as halons. These compounds are transported into the
stratosphere after being emitted at the surface. Both ozone depletion
mechanisms strengthened as emissions of CFCs and halons increased.
CFCl3 + hν → CFCl2 + Cl
The Cl and Br atoms can then destroy ozone molecules through a variety
of catalytic cycles. In the simplest example of such a cycle, a chlorine
atom reacts with an ozone molecule, taking an oxygen atom with it
(forming ClO) and leaving a normal oxygen molecule. The chlorine
monoxide (i.e., the ClO) can react with a second molecule of ozone (i.e.,
O3) to yield another chlorine atom and two molecules of oxygen. The
chemical shorthand for these gas-phase reactions is:
Cl + O3 → ClO + O2
ClO + O3 → Cl + 2 O2
Lowest value of ozone measured by TOMS each year in the ozone hole.
Verification of observations
The role of sunlight in ozone depletion is the reason why the Antarctic
ozone depletion is greatest during spring. During winter, even though
PSCs are at their most abundant, there is no light over the pole to drive
the chemical reactions. During the spring, however, the sun comes out,
providing energy to drive photochemical reactions, and melt the polar
stratospheric clouds, releasing the trapped compounds. Warming
temperatures near the end of spring break up the vortex around mid-
December. As warm, ozone-rich air flows in from lower latitudes, the
PSCs are destroyed, the ozone depletion process shuts down, and the
ozone hole closes.
While the effect of the Antarctic ozone hole in decreasing the global
ozone is relatively small, estimated at about 4% per decade, the hole has
generated a great deal of interest because:
The decrease in the ozone layer was predicted in the early 1980s to
be roughly 7% over a 60 year period.
The sudden recognition in 1985 that there was a substantial "hole"
was widely reported in the press. The especially rapid ozone
depletion in Antarctica had previously been dismissed as a
measurement error.
Many were worried that ozone holes might start to appear over
other areas of the globe but to date the only other large-scale
depletion is a smaller ozone "dimple" observed during the Arctic
spring over the North Pole. Ozone at middle latitudes has declined,
but by a much smaller extent (about 4–5% decrease).
If the conditions became more severe (cooler stratospheric
temperatures, more stratospheric clouds, more active chlorine),
then global ozone may decrease at a much greater pace. Standard
global warming theory predicts that the stratosphere will cool.
When the Antarctic ozone hole breaks up, the ozone-depleted air
drifts out into nearby areas. Decreases in the ozone level of up to
10% have been reported in New Zealand in the month following
the break-up of the Antarctic ozone hole.
Increases in surface UVB due to the ozone hole can be partially inferred
by radiative transfer model calculations, but cannot be calculated from
direct measurements because of the lack of reliable historical (pre-
ozone-hole) surface UV data, although more recent surface UV
observation measurement programs exist (e.g. at Lauder, New Zealand).
Ecological effects
Damage to materials
Effects on humans
Very violent volcanic eruptions can inject HCl into the stratosphere, but
researchers have shown that the contribution is not significant compared
to that from CFCs. A similar erroneous assertion is that soluble halogen
compounds from the volcanic plume of Mount Erebus on Ross Island,
Antarctica are a major contributor to the Antarctic ozone hole.
The discrepancy between the Arctic and Antarctic noted by Dobson was
primarily a matter of timing: during the Arctic spring ozone levels rose
smoothly, peaking in April, whereas in the Antarctic they stayed
approximately constant during early spring, rising abruptly in November
when the polar vortex broke down.
Some people thought that the ozone hole should be above the sources of
CFCs. However, CFCs are well mixed in the troposphere and the
stratosphere. The reason for occurrence of the ozone hole above
Antarctica is not because there are more CFCs concentrated but because
the low temperatures help form polar stratospheric clouds. In fact, there
are findings of significant and localized "ozone holes" above other parts
of the earth.