Guest guest Posted October 5, 2006 Report Share Posted October 5, 2006 At 10:35 AM 10/5/06, you wrote: >Record amount of ozone lost over Antarctica >Posted by: " Mark Graffis " mgraffis mgraffis >Thu Oct 5, 2006 5:57 am (PST) >Record amount of ozone lost over Antarctica >October 4, 2006 >http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/record-amount-of-ozone-lost-over-antarctica/20\ 06/10/03/1159641325829.html# > >FRASCATI, Italy: The ozone hole over the South Pole has expanded to a >near-record size despite a 19-year global ban on chlorofluorocarbons, the >pollutant identified as being responsible for ozone depletion, the >European Space Agency says. >In a statement issued on Monday by its office in Frascati, the agency said >40 million tonnes of ozone had been lost over Antarctica this year, >exceeding the record 39 million tonne loss registered in 2000. " The size >of this year's ozone hole is 28 million square kilometres, nearly as large >as the record ozone hole extension [recorded] during 2000, and the depth >of the ozone hole is rivalling the record low ozone values of 1998, " the >statement said. > >The agency's Claus Zehner said this year's loss was caused by unusually >low temperatures above Antarctica. > > " Such significant ozone loss requires very low temperatures in the >stratosphere, combined with sunlight, " Mr Zehner said. " This year's >extreme loss of ozone can be explained by the temperatures above >Antarctica reaching the lowest recorded in the area since 1979. " > >Ozone is a protective layer found in the atmosphere that acts as a >sunlight filter shielding life on Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays. >Ozone loss is associated with the increased risk of skin cancer, cataracts >and harm to marine life. > >Chlorofluorocarbons, which contain chlorine and bromine, have been blamed >for thinning the ozone layer because they attack ozone molecules, causing >them to break apart. > >Officially recognised by scientists in 1985, the ozone hole typically >occurs during the Antarctic spring, from September to early December. > >In the past decade the level of ozone in the Earth's atmosphere has fallen >by about 0.3 per cent, increasing the risk of skin cancer, cataracts and >harm to marine life, the agency added. > >The World Meteorological Organisation said last month that the hole was >nearing its record size of 29 million square kilometres set in 2000. The >depth of the hole, however, was greater this year than in 2000, bringing >the amount of lost ozone to 40 million tonnes on October 2. > >The meteorological organisation and the UN Environment Program said in >August the protective layer is likely to return to pre-1980 levels by 2049 >over much of Australia, Europe, North America, Asia, Latin America and >Africa. In Antarctica, they said ozone layer recovery would likely be >delayed until 2065. > >Man-made chlorofluorocarbons had still not vanished from the air despite >being banned under the Montreal Protocol of 1987, the agency said. > >Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Reuters > >Back to top Reply to sender ****** Kraig and Shirley Carroll ... in the woods of SE Kentucky http://www.thehavens.com/ thehavens 606-376-3363 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.859 / Virus Database: 585 - Release 2/14/05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.