1)The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone (O3).

This layer absorbs 9799% of the Sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is damaging to life on Earth.[1] It is mainly located in the lower portion of the stratosphere from approximately 30 to 40 kilometres (19 to 25 mi) above Earth, though the thickness varies seasonally and geographically.[2] The ozone layer was discovered in 1913 by the French physicists Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson. Its properties were explored in detail by the British meteorologist G. M. B. Dobson, who developed a simple spectrophotometer (the Dobsonmeter) that could be used to measure stratospheric ozone from the ground. Between 1928 and 1958 Dobson established a worldwide network of ozone monitoring stations, which continue to operate to this day. The "Dobson unit", a convenient measure of the columnar density of ozone overhead, is named in his honor. one depletion Main article: Ozone depletion

NASA projections of stratospheric ozone concentrations if chlorofluorocarbons had not been banned. The ozone layer can be depleted by free radical catalysts, including nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide(N2O), hydroxyl (OH), atomic chlorine (Cl), and atomicbromine (Br). While there are natural sources for all of these species, the concentrations of chlorine and bromine have increased markedly in recent years due to the release of large quantities of man-madeorganohalogen compounds, especially chlorofluorocarbons(CFCs) and bromofluorocarbons.[4] These highly stable

compounds are capable of surviving the rise to thestratosphere, where Cl and Br radicals are liberated by the action of ultraviolet light. Each radical is then free to initiate and catalyze a chain reaction capable of breaking down over 100,000 ozone molecules. The breakdown of ozone in the stratosphere results in the ozone molecules being unable to absorb ultraviolet radiation. Consequently, unabsorbed and dangerous ultraviolet-B radiation is able to reach the Earths surface. Ozone levels over the northern hemisphere have been dropping by 4% per decade. Over approximately 5% of the Earth's surface, around the north and south poles, much larger seasonal declines have been seen, and are described as ozone holes. In 2009, nitrous oxide (N2O) was the largest ozone-depleting substance emitted through human activities.[5] [edit]Regulation In 1978, the United States, Canada and Norway enacted bans on CFC-containing aerosol sprays that are thought to damage the ozone layer. The European Community rejected an analogous proposal to do the same. In the U.S., chlorofluorocarbons continued to be used in other applications, such as refrigeration and industrial cleaning, until after the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole in 1985. After negotiation of an international treaty (the Montreal Protocol), CFC production was sharply limited beginning in 1987 and phased out completely by 1996.[citation needed]Since that time, the treaty has been amended to ban CFC production after 1995 in the developed countries, and later in developing. Today, over 160 countries have signed the treaty. Beginning January 1, 1996, only recycled and stockpiled CFCs will be available for use in developed countries like the US. This production phaseout is possible because of efforts to ensure that there will be substitute chemicals and technologies for all CFC uses.[6] On August 2, 2003, scientists announced that the depletion of the ozone layer may be slowing down due to the international ban on CFCs.[7] Three satellites and three ground stations confirmed that the upper atmosphere ozone depletion rate has slowed down significantly during the past decade. The study was organized by the American Geophysical Union. Some breakdown can be expected to continue due to CFCs used by nations which have not banned them, and due to gases which are already in the stratosphere. CFCs have very long atmospheric lifetimes, ranging from 50 to over 100 years, so the final recovery of the ozone layer is expected to require several lifetimes. Compounds containing CH bonds (such as hydrochlorofluorocarbons, or HCFCs) have been designed to replace the function of CFCs. These replacement compounds are more

reactive and less likely to survive long enough in the atmosphere to reach the stratosphere where they could affect the ozone layer. While being less damaging than CFCs, HCFCs can have a negative impact on the ozone layer, so they are also being phased out.[8]

2)Ozone is a form of oxygen containing three oxygen atoms instead of two. It occurs naturally in the stratosphere, between 19 and 30 kilometers above the earth, where it is produced as oxygen atoms split apart in the presence of sunlight which then reunite subsequently as a combination of three. Its presence in the stratosphere is a boon as it saves earth and its inhabitants from many harmful effects. filtering out highly energetic and carcinogenic ultraviolet radiation. Unfortunately, some household products contain chemicals responsible for creating holes in earths protective shield. Causes of Ozone Depletion Holes in the ozone layer were discovered in last quarter of twentieth century. In 1985, a convention was held at Vienna to investigate the cause of ozone depletion. Two years later, 30 nations of the world gathered at Montreal and it was jointly avowed that certain chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons are the leading cause of holes in ozone in the stratosphere. This declaration is famously known as theMontreal Protocol. Ads by Google Air Purifying SystemExperience The Air Purifying System Of LG Air Conditioner. Learn Morewww.lg.com/AirConditioner Air CleanerCeiling mounted. electronic air cleaner removes airborne pollutantswww.aom.my/aircleaner Chlorofluorocarbons, abbreviated as CFCs, are chemical substances present in certain commonplace appliances. Typical examples include refrigerants, aerosol sprays, coolants and blowing agents in fire extinguishers. Chlorine in CFCs reacts with ozone and converts it back to oxygen thus removing the natural sunscreen and exposing earth to harmful solar radiations. In his 2007, Encyclopedia of earth article,"Stratospheric Ozone Depletion by Chloroflourocarbons", F. Sherwood Rowland describes that these compounds are extremely stable and can remain in the stratosphere for several decades. Worse, a single chlorine atom is capable of destroying around 100,000 ozone molecules. Consequences of Ozone Depletion The ozone layer acts as a protective shield and blocks harmful solar radiations from reaching the ground. Its depletion in the stratosphere exposes earth's surface to highenergy ultraviolet radiations. Exposure to these radiations may cause skin reddening and ultimately skin cancer. Ultraviolet radiations can result in eye disorders such as cataracts and even blindness. They are capable of traveling under water and can kill microscopic living organisms

called plankton. These organisms lie at the base of the aquatic food chain and their death weakens the whole chain. READ THIS NEXT

The Importance of Greenhouse Gases Over-Fertilizing the Ozone Layer UN Says Ozone Layer Depletion Over Due to Montreal Protocol

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation also affects plant growth resulting in extinction of certain plant species. Plants are the major oxygen producers in the environment and maintain the water cycle in nature. The whole land food web runs the risk of being broken as a result of their extinction. Solutions to the Problem Damage to the ozone layer has already occurred. It can only be reversed if the rate of ozone production in stratosphere exceeds that of destruction. Individual behaviors and governmental approach towards the remedy are the key to resolution of the issue. The major cause of ozone depletion is evidently CFCs. Thus government bodies across the globe should ban their use. Effective and cheap alternatives also need to be explored. We have been responsible for destroying the earth's fragile shielding screen. Thus people must take ownership of restoring the ozone layer and assuring a healthy environment for present and future generations.

Ozone Layer Depletion: Effects And Causes of Ozone Depletion Jan 26th, 2011 bybuddha_unique1

Share 3)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 is 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 wavelength 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. Causes of Ozone Depletion The cause of ozone depletion is the increase in the level of free radicals such as hydroxyl radicals, nitric oxide radicals and atomic chlorine and bromine. The most important compound, which accounts for almost 80% of the total depletion of ozone in the stratosphere are chlorofluorocarbons (CFC). These compounds are very stable in the lower atmosphere of the Earth, but in the stratosphere, they break down to release a free chlorine atom due to ultraviolet radiation. A free chlorine atom reacts with an ozone molecule (O3) and forms chlorine monoxide (ClO) and a molecule of oxygen. Now chlorine monoxide reacts with an ozone molecule to form a chlorine atom and two

molecules of oxygen. The free chlorine molecule again reacts with ozone to form chlorine monoxide. The process continues and result is the reduction or depletion of ozone in the stratosphere. Possible Effects of Ozone Depletion If you are wondering why is the ozone layer important, then the answer lies in the harmful effects of ultraviolet rays. The ozone layer is responsible for absorbing the ultraviolet rays and thereby preventing them from passing through the atmosphere of Earth. Ultraviolet rays of the Sun are associated with a number of health related and environmental issues. The most important of these is the association between ultraviolet rays and an increased risk of developing several types of skin cancers including malignant melanoma, basal and squamous cell carcinoma. Even the incidents of cortical cataracts can also increase significantly with the increased exposure to ultraviolet rays. Another observation in this regard is that a decrease in the ozone in the stratosphere can lead to an increase in the ozone present in the lower atmosphere. Ozone present in the lower atmosphere is mainly regarded as a pollutant and a green house gas that can contribute to global warming and climate change. However, researches have pointed out that the lifespan of atmospheric ozone is quiet less as compared to stratospheric ozone. At the same time, increase in the surface level of ozone can enhance the ability of sunlight to synthesize vitamin D, which can be regarded as an important beneficial effect of ozone layer depletion. The effects of ozone depletion are not limited to humans only, as it can affect animals and plants as well. It can affect important food crops like rice by adversely affecting cyanobacteria, which helps them absorb and utilize nitrogen properly. Phytoplankton, an important component of the marine food chain, can also be affected by ozone depletion. Studies in this regard have shown that ultraviolet rays can influence the survival rates of these microscopic organisms by affecting their orientation and mobility. The increasing concern for the causes and effects of ozone depletion led to the adoption of the Montreal Protocol, in the year 1987, in order to reduce and control the industrial emission of chlorofluorocarbons. International agreements have succeeded to a great extent in reducing the emission of these compounds, however, more cooperation and understanding among all the countries of the world is required to mitigate the problem. Ozone depletion Ozone depletion describes two distinct, but related observations: a slow, steady decline of about 4% per decade in the total volume of ozone in Earth's stratosphere (the ozone layer) since the late 1970s, and a much larger, but seasonal, decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earth's polar regions during the same period. The latter phenomenon is commonly referred to as the ozone hole. In addition to this well-known stratospheric ozone depletion, there are also tropospheric ozone depletion events, which occur near the surface in polar regions during spring.

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.[1] 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. [2] Both ozone depletion mechanisms strengthened as emissions of CFCs and halons increased. CFCs and other contributory substances are commonly referred to as ozone-depleting substances(ODS). Since the ozone layer prevents most harmful UVB wavelengths (280 315 nm) of ultraviolet light (UV light) from passing through the Earth's atmosphere, observed and projected decreases in ozone have generated worldwide concern leading to adoption of the Montreal Protocol that bans the production of CFCs and halons as well as related ozone depleting chemicals such as carbon tetrachloride and trichloroethane. It is suspected that a variety of biological consequences such as increases in skin cancer, cataracts,[3] damage to plants, and reduction of plankton populations in the ocean's photic zone may result from the increased UV exposure due to ozone depletion. Ozone cycle overview The ozone cycle Three forms (or allotropes) of oxygen are involved in the ozone-oxygen cycle: oxygen atoms (O or atomic oxygen), oxygen gas (O2 or diatomic oxygen), and ozone gas (O3 or triatomic oxygen). Ozone is formed in the stratosphere when oxygen molecules photodissociate after absorbing an ultraviolet photon whose wavelength is shorter than 240 nm. This produces two oxygen atoms. The atomic oxygen then combines with O2 to create O3. Ozone molecules absorb UV light between 310 and 200 nm, following which ozone splits into a molecule of O2 and an oxygen atom. The oxygen atom then joins up with an oxygen molecule to regenerate ozone. This is a continuing process which terminates when an oxygen atom "recombines" with an ozone molecule to make two O2 molecules: O + O3 2 O2 Layers of the atmosphere (not to scale) The overall amount of ozone in the stratosphere is determined by a balance between photochemical production and recombination. Ozone can be destroyed by a number of free radical catalysts, the most important of which are the hydroxyl radical (OH), the nitric oxide radical (NO), atomic chlorine (Cl) and bromine (Br). All of these have both natural and manmade sources; at the present time, most of the OH and NO in the stratosphere is of natural origin, but human activity has dramatically increased the levels of chlorine and bromine. These elements are found in certain stable organic compounds, especially chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which may find their way to the stratosphere without being destroyed in the troposphere due to their

low reactivity. Once in the stratosphere, the Cl and Br atoms are liberated from the parent compounds by the action of ultraviolet light, e.g. ('h' is Planck's constant, '' is frequency of electromagnetic radiation) CFCl3 + h 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,[4] 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 The overall effect is a decrease in the amount of ozone. More complicated mechanisms have been discovered that lead to ozone destruction in the lower stratosphere as well. A single chlorine atom would keep on destroying ozone (thus a catalyst) for up to two years (the time scale for transport back down to the troposphere) were it not for reactions that remove them from this cycle by forming reservoir species such as hydrogen chloride (HCl) and chlorine nitrate (ClONO2). On a per atom basis, bromine is even more efficient than chlorine at destroying ozone, but there is much less bromine in the atmosphere at present. As a result, both chlorine and bromine contribute significantly to the overall ozone depletion. Laboratory studies have shown that fluorine and iodine atoms participate in analogous catalytic cycles. However, in the Earth's stratosphere, fluorine atoms react rapidly with water and methane to form strongly bound HF, while organic molecules which contain iodine react so rapidly in the lower atmosphere that they do not reach the stratosphere in significant quantities. Furthermore, a single chlorine atom is able to react with 100,000 ozone molecules. This fact plus the amount of chlorine released into the atmosphere by chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) yearly demonstrates how dangerous CFCs are to the environment.[5]

Read more:http://www.bukisa.com/articles/443936_ozone-layer-depletion-effects-andcauses-of-ozone-depletion#ixzz1VqPhHS4t