Why has an “ozone hole” appeared over Antarctica when ozone-depleting gases are present throughout the stratosphere?
Ozone-depleting gases are present throughout the stratospheric ozone layer because they are transported great distances by atmospheric air motions. The severe depletion of the Antarctic ozone layer known as the “ozone hole” forms because of the special weather conditions that exist there and nowhere else on the globe. The very cold temperatures of the Antarctic stratosphere create ice clouds called polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs). Special reactions that occur on PSCs and the relative isolation of polar stratospheric air allow chlorine and bromine reactions to produce the ozone hole in Antarctic springtime.
Related Questions
- Do we understand the transport of trace gases between the troposphere and the stratosphere and the role of upper tropospheric aerosols, water vapor and ozone in climate change?
- Why has an "ozone hole" appeared over Antarctica when ozone-depleting gases are present throughout the stratosphere?
- Why has an "ozone hole" appeared over Antarctic when ozone-depleting gases are present throughout the stratosphere?
