Researchers say that they have found the first clear evidence that the thinning ozone layer above Antarctica is slowly starting to heal.
Back in September 2015, the hole was recorded to be around 4 million sq km smaller than it was in the year 2000. This has caused to the long term phasing out of ozone-destroying chemicals or CFCs. Volcanoes were also blamed for such phenomena, which is said to be making the problem worse.
British scientists first noticed the thinning of ozone in the atmosphere some 10 kilometers about the Antarctica in the mid 1980s.
Ozone serves to block out harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Its absence increases the chances of skin cancer, cataract damage, and harm to animals and plants.
The reason of thinning mainly over Antarctica was because of the extreme cold and large amounts of light. These helped produce what are termed as Polar Atmospheric Clouds. In there chilled-out clouds, the chlorine chemistry occurs that destroys the ozone.
US researcher Susan Solomon and colleagues carried out detailed measurements of the amount of ozone in the stratosphere between 2000 and 2015.
With the use of data gathered from weather balloons, satellites and model simulations, they were able to show that the thinning of the layer had declined by 4 million sq km over the period. They found that more than half the shrinkage was due to solely to the reduction in atmospheric chlorine.
According to Professor Solomon, even though the production of CFCs in all countries around the year 2000, there is still a lot of chlorine left in the atmosphere. Though it may take a lifetime of about 50-100 years, it is starting to slowly decay and the ozone will slowly recover.
"This is the first convincing evidence that the healing of the Antarctic ozone hole has now started," said Dr Markus Rex from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Germany.
However, others are not entirely convinced that the decline shown in the new study is down to a reduction in the amount of chlorine in the atmosphere.
Regardless of these doubts, the scientists involved in the study believe the ozone story is a great role model for how to tackle global environment problems.
Source: The Science Magazine BBC News
Share It To Your Friends!
Loading...