Issue on Ozone Depletion

Ozone Depletion

The ozone layer is a layer in the stratosphere, which is about 15 and 30 kilometers in altitude, containing a relatively high concentration of ozone. The upper portion of the earth's atmosphere is called upper-level ozone. This layer of the atmosphere, extending from about twelve to twenty four miles above the planets surface, and is known as the stratosphere. The ozone layer protects the Earth by absorbing some wavelengths of solar ultraviolet radiation that are not screened by any other atmospheric component. In 1913, the ozone layer was discovered by two French physicists named Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson. Its properties were explored by G.M.B. Dobson, who developed a simple spectrophotometer that could be used to measure stratospheric ozone from the ground.

Ozone is a gas and is a form of oxygen. Each molecule of ozone contains three atoms of oxygen. Each one of these molecules can be broken down even smaller into tinier building blocks called atoms, which are the basic particles of all matter. Because each molecule of ozone is composed of three atoms, ozone is referred to 03. Ozone gas is colorless but has a strong odor. The ozone molecule is unstable; it has a tendency to break apart and join with other atoms. This is a continuing process known as the ozone oxygen cycle, which creates the ozone layer in the stratosphere. The other 10% is located in the troposphere. The troposphere is the lowest part of the part of our atmosphere where all the weather takes places.

The ozone layer is higher in the tropics, lower in altitude in the extra tropics, especially in the polar region. This variation of altitudes results from the slow circulation that lifts the poor ozone air out from the troposphere and into the stratosphere. As the air slowly rises, ozone is created by the sun. As the circulation moves towards the mid-latitudes, it carries the rich ozone air from middle stratosphere to lower stratosphere. The amounts of ozone over the United States are highest in the northern spring (April and May). Over the course of the summer ozone amounts decrease and has its lowest amounts during October. When winter comes again, ozone amounts increase again. The amount of ozone generally increases as we move from the tropics to higher latitudes.

Many may not notice, but the ozone layer is vitally important to life because it absorbs the harmful ultraviolet rays. There are three different types of