Is the ozone concentration increasing or decreasing?

Is the ozone concentration increasing or decreasing?

Research published in American Chemistry and Physics shows that there continues to be a decrease in stratospheric ozone (O₃), despite a detectable increase in the ozone levels in the upper stratosphere and at the poles.

Is the ozone still thinning?

But recent evidence from a study published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics suggests that ozone levels in our planet’s lower stratosphere have been decreasing, especially in the mid-latitude areas where most people on Earth live.

What is causing thinning of the ozone?

Scientists also discovered that the thinning in the ozone layer was caused by increasing concentrations of ozone-depleting chemicals – chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs (compounds with chlorine and/or fluorine attached to carbon) and to a lesser extent halons (similar compounds with bromine or iodine).

Are ozone levels increasing?

Ozone pollution levels have increased over the past 20 years, study finds. In analyzing the ozone data, which was collected by commercial aircraft, the team found that, while ozone values were very low between 1994 and 2004, they rose to “very high levels,” between 2011 and 2016, according to a statement.

How does ozone increase?

This happens when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources chemically react in the presence of sunlight. Ozone is most likely to reach unhealthy levels on hot sunny days in urban environments, but can still reach high levels during colder months.

Is the ozone getting thicker or thinner?

The ozone layer, which only makes up 0.00006 percent of Earth’s atmosphere, is getting thinner and thinner all the time. “Ozone holes” are popular names for areas of damage to the ozone layer. This is inaccurate. Ozone layer damage is more like a really thin patch than a hole.

How ozone is depleted?

Ozone Depletion. When chlorine and bromine atoms come into contact with ozone in the stratosphere, they destroy ozone molecules. One chlorine atom can destroy over 100,000 ozone molecules before it is removed from the stratosphere. Ozone can be destroyed more quickly than it is naturally created.

Why is ozone harmful?

How is Ozone Harmful? When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs. Relatively low amounts can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath and throat irritation. Ozone may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections.

What is ozone concentration?

Ozone concentrations refer to the quantity of ozone (O3) molecules in the air. In the Bay Area, ozone is measured by numerous monitoring stations that record hourly concentrations at each site. These hourly data are used to calculate eight-hour peak ozone levels.

What affects ozone concentration?

Daily temperatures, relative humidity, and wind speed can affect ozone levels. In general, warm dry weather is more conducive to ozone formation than cool wet weather. Wind can affect both the location and concentration of ozone pollution.

How much does the ozone decrease per day?

Ozone decreases of as much as 70% have been observed on a few days. Severe ozone depletion was also measured over the Arctic. Lowest values over the Arctic occurred in 2000 north of Sweden, with about 60% depletion in some layers of the atmosphere.

How much chlorine does it take to destroy ozone?

One chlorine can destroy 100,000 molecules of ozone. It is destroyed more quickly than it is created. Some compounds release chlorine and bromine on exposure to high ultraviolet light, which then contributes to the ozone layer depletion.

What destroys stratospheric ozone?

Atmospheric measurements have clearly corroborated theoretical studies showing that chlorine and bromine released from halocarbons in the stratosphere react with and destroy ozone. A flowchart depicting the principal steps in the depletion of stratospheric ozone.

What is ozone and what causes it?

Closer to Earth in the troposphere (the atmospheric layer from the surface up to about 10 km), ozone is a harmful pollutant that causes damage to lung tissue and plants. The amounts of “good” stratospheric and “bad” tropospheric ozone in the atmosphere depend on a balance between processes that create ozone and those that destroy it.