Our Ozone
The ozone layer is a region of the atmosphere that protects us from the harmful effects of the sun. It works as a filter that lets in UV rays that are vital to the health of the earth; it also blocks harmful rays that are dangerous to humans and the environment. It is formed by the reaction that sunlight has on oxygen. This cycle has been going on for millions of years; the ozone levels have been naturally regulated by the amount of nitrogen in the atmosphere. This has kept the ozone stable enough for the planet to prosper. The levels are extremely important to every specie on the earth. Scientists discovered in the 1970’s that chemicals that we had been using regularly were damaging the earth’s protective layer. This damage has caused a “hole” that lets in the harmful rays of the sun. It’s now up the people who caused the problem, us, to solve it. Clorofloro Carbons “CFC’s” are what we as humans use to help us cool are refrigerator and cars. CFC’s were developed in the 1930’s, and can destroy ozone once it gets into the atmosphere. Once released into the atmosphere, the CFC’s, which contain chlorine, continue to rise and are broken apart by the sun’s rays. The chlorine then reacts and begins
What is the ozone hole? The ozone hole was created by man, and currently sits over the Antarctica. The ozone hole was found in 1985 by a NASA satellite that was probing the earth. The hole occurs over the Antarctic because of the polar winters. The polar winters lead to the formation of the polar vortex. Which is cold enough to create polar stratospheric clouds, in these clouds a reaction between the chemicals takes place and converts the inactive chlorine and bromine to more active forms. Ozone loss will not occur until sunlight returns in October and gets into the air inside the Polar Vortex and activates and releases the chemicals. That begins the rapid destruction of ozone. The ozone hole is currently 11.5 million square miles and has grown by over a million square miles a year since the year 2000. The World Meteorological Organization observed a 45 percent depletion of the ozone layer over a third of the northern hemisphere, from Greenland to western Siberia, for several days in the 1995-1996 winter. (Compton’s 2001) Scientists fear that polar winds could one day frequently carry the depleted ozone to heavily populated areas. The hole is estimated to start closing in the next 3 years and be completely closed with in fifty years. Over 100 nations came to an agreement in 1995 to work together to phase out any chemicals that had been proven to be ozone damagers. NASA has since released satellites to monitor ozone depletion levels across the globe. This satellite, which orbits the earth at about 600 km, measures ozone variations at different altitudes and is now providing the most effect
Some topics in this essay:
Meteorological Organization,
Clorofloro Carbons,
Melanoma Cataracts,
,
Polar Vortex,
ozone hole,
ozone layer,
marine life,
hydrogen based fuel,
harmful rays,
electric cars,
hydrogen based,
based fuel,
polar vortex,
polar winters,
americans demand,
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Approximate Word count = 1083
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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