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Freezing Out The Ozone Layer
Cambridge- February 1, 2000 - Record low air temperatures high above the Arctic this winter are set to create the northern hemisphere's largest ever ozone hole. "The system is primed for ozone destruction," says Neil Harris, head of the European Ozone Research Coordinating Unit in Cambridge. "If the cold temperatures persist into February we could see a record." The Arctic ozone hole first appeared in the mid-1990s, more than a decade after the Antarctic hole. Like its southern cousin, it forms as the Sun rises after the midwinter night. Solar radiation triggers reactions between ozone in the stratosphere and chemicals containing chlorine or bromine. These occur fastest on the surface of ice particles in clouds, which only form in the polar stratosphere at temperatures below �80 �C. "This year is most unusual. Temperatures have been consistently as low as ever recorded in the Arctic stratosphere," says Harris. "There have been polar stratospheric clouds since the end of November and we are already seeing ozone destruction." The low temperatures will fuel growing concern that climate change is amplifying the impact of ozone-destroying chemicals by cooling the stratosphere near the poles. Drew Shindell of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York says that during the past decade changes in the atmospheric circulation linked to climate change have strengthened a pool of cold air in the Arctic stratosphere known as the midwinter vortex. The vortex has recently become colder and longer-lasting, making the Arctic stratosphere more like its Antarctic counterpart (New Scientist, 1 May 1999, p 28). This article appeared in the January 22 issue of New Scientist New Scientist. Copyright 1999 - All rights reserved. The material on this page is provided by New Scientist and may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without written authorization from New Scientist.
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Calcutta, India (SPX) Dec 28, 2005The successful launch Thursday of India's heaviest satellite from spaceport of Kourou in French Guyana may have boosted the country's space research efforts to yet another level, but it has also lifted the spirits of at least three Direct-To-Home televisions broadcasters, one of which has been waiting for years to launch its services in India. |
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