What is the ozone layer?
Martha: (shrugs her shoulders in a gesture of uncertainty) I think the ozone layers like the top of the air where we are right now and then the rest is empty of the ozone layer. I think its supposed to protect where we are right now from polluting and trash and stuff. Donna: Where did you hear about the ozone layer? Martha: Mostly on TV.The news channels mostly.Sometimes I want to see what there is, what I should wear, but they go into the ozone layer and stuff, and I watch that until they say what the weathers going to be like. (King, 78) In the book, Doing their Share to Save the Planet, author Donna Lee King interviewed numerous children to ask their opinions about environmental issues. The conversation above exhibits the innocence and naiveté of a young child, who will eventually inherit mother earth, in regards to the ozone layer. Although the adult reader may chuckle at this young girls lack of knowledge, the average adult is virtually as uneducated. With such a life affecting is
The ozone layer is a portion of the Earth’s atmosphere which contains relatively high levels of ozone. The Earth’s atmosphere consists of many different layers, and is made up primarily of nitrogen, with oxygen being the second-most common element. The ozone layer is important for a number of reasons, but primarily because it helps to protect life on earth from damaging ultraviolet radiation. Ozone itself is a particular form of oxygen, where three atoms of the element have bonded together. It is poisonous for us to breathe directly, and is considered a pollutant if it’s found near the surface. The name for ozone comes from the word for the particular smell is it associated with, which occurs during lightning storms. The ozone layer, like the Earth’s atmosphere itself, has no exact boundary. In general, it is viewed as being the layer of gasses 10 to 20 miles (15-35km) above the Earth’s surface. The concentration of ozone in the ozone layer is high in comparison to anywhere else, but i
It is thin, far away, and nearly invisible, but it is good fortune that an ozone layer surrounds the Earth. Add one more atom to an oxygen molecule (O2) and you create ozone (O3). A thin band of ozone encircles Earth in the Earth’s stratosphere, 20–50 km (12–30 miles) above Earth’s surface. Scientists dub this “good” ozone, thankful that this layer blocks some dangerous ultraviolet (UV) light from the Sun. Without this shield, living things would have to deal with an increase in UV radiation. From more intense sunburns to possible skin cancer, UV radiation damages and destroys cells. There is enough concern about UV radiation to measure it on a UV index. Based upon the thickness of the ozone layer, cloud cover, the season, and elevation, the UV index warns about minimal (0) to maximum (10) risks. Understanding the UV index helps us avoid unnecessary exposure to harmful radiation. Is there really a “hole” in the ozone layer? Don’t expect to see a layer of ozone, much less a hole in the
The ozone layer is a deep layer in the stratosphere, encircling the Earth, that has large amounts of ozone in it. The layer shields the entire Earth from much of the harmful ultraviolet radiation that comes from the sun. Interestingly, it is also this ultraviolet radiation that forms the ozone in the first place. Ozone is a special form of oxygen, made up of three oxygen atoms rather than the usual two oxygen atoms. It usually forms when some type of radiation or electrical discharge separates the two atoms in an oxygen molecule (O2), which can then individually recombine with other oxygen molecules to form ozone (O3). The ozone layer became more widely appreciated when it was realized that certain chemicals mankind manufactures, called chloroflurocarbons, find their way up into the stratosphere where, through a complex series of chemical reactions, they destroy some of the ozone. As a result of this discovery, an international treaty was signed, the the manufacture of these chemicals
