The Arctic And The Ozone Layer

Its Over 30 years since the discovery of the Ozone Hole drew world attention to the impact of human activity on the global environment.

Discovery

Scientists from British Antarctic Survey began monitoring ozone during the International Geophysical Year of  1957-58. In 1958 scientists discovered that since the mid 1970's ozone values over Halley and Faraday research stations had steadily dropping when the sun appeared each spring. Something in the stratosphere (about 20 km above Earth) was destroying ozone.

Montreal Protocol: Is it Successful ?

The Protocol is having clear effect and the amount of zone destroying substances in the atmosphere is beginning to go down. Nevertheless, the original compounds are so stable and long-lived that an ozone hole will exist each Antarctic Spring for at least another 50 years.

The Arctic

The Arctic region, around the North Pole, is an important indicator of the impacts of industrial and human activities, both at the surface level and in the atmosphere. The rapid warming of the regions has attracted considerable scientific attention.

Besides well known phenomenon of global warming occurring in our lower atmosphere another atmospheric phenomenon had been taking place over the Arctic. Recent record low ozone values in the stratosphere have led scientists to take a closer look at the links between the changing climate and ozone distribution; changes that may undermine the recovery of the Ozone layer predicted to occur in a few decades.

This 17 min documentary was produced by the United Nations Environmental Program:

The Arctic And The Ozone Layer