2006 Antarctic ozone hole is most serious on record
by editorial staff | 10/ 5/2006 | article read 307 times
This year’s hole in the Antarctic ozone layer was the most serious on record exceeding that of 2000. Not only was it the largest in surface area (matching 2000) but also suffered the most mass deficit, meaning that there was less ozone over the Antarctic than ever previously measured.
Measurements were taken from instruments on both NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) satellites. These are validated by surface based observations of the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) ozone network. Each agency uses different instruments hence the slightly different values.
NASA instruments showed that, on 25 September 2006, the area of the hole reached 29.5 million km2, compared to 29.4 million km2 reached in September 2000.
According to ESA, the ozone hole area reached 28.0 million km2 on 25 September 2006, very close to the maximum in 2000, which peaked at 28.4 million km2
The ozone mass deficit in 2006 was measured at 39.8 megatonnes on 1 October, higher than in 2000, which peaked at 39.6 megatonnes on 29 September. Mass deficit is the amount of ozone missing from a vertical column of air compared to a baseline measured many decades earlier before severe ozone depletion appeared.
This year’s hole was caused by the continuing presence of peak levels of ozone destroying substances in the atmosphere combined with a particularly cold stratospheric winter.
World Meteorological Organization
Our articles may be freely reproduced, partially or entirelly under one condition: you must mention the author, the website www.aleloo.com and tell us every time.
by editorial staff | Ecology | 
| 
No comment yet