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The Good, The Bad And The Ozone
Cape Canaveral FL - Jun 07, 2004 Ozone is a big buzz word these days. We mostly hear about the ozone layer, and the importance of protecting it. But if you want to understand what ozone's all about, you need to understand that it can be good, and it can be bad.
The good kind of ozone Regular oxygen molecules, known to science-types as O2, are made up of two oxygen atoms stuck together. Solar energy shoots in from space and splits that molecule into two atoms. When one of those stray atoms attaches to a full-fledged O2 molecule, you've got, well, O3, otherwise known as ozone. All that action blocks solar radiation, and keeps it from reaching us. How can solar radiation be harmful to life on Earth? Part of that radiation is ultra-violet, or UV radiation. It's an intense energy from the Sun that can cause a whole lot of damage. Skin cancer is the most dramatic result of a too much UV radiation, but there's a lot more too. Photosynthesis in plants is also affected, and that causes problems for the whole food chain. See where this is headed? We need to protect our ozone shield, and we can do so by decreasing the pollution that our industrial society puts out in large amounts every day.
The bad kind of ozone Put a little ozone in the troposphere and you've got some big problems. Remember those dramatic chemical reactions that happened up in the stratosphere? Living things are made of atoms and molecules too, so when we expose them to ozone, we've got some serious chemical reactions on our hands. In humans, it means lung damage. Small children and people with asthma are especially at risk. How can you help solve the problem? Cars, trucks and SUVs are the biggest contributor to this ozone buildup. Engine exhaust creates nitrogen dioxide, so the more you drive, the more your vehicle creates. High gas prices aren't the only reason to leave the car in the garage.
So what now? One of its most impressive tools is the Ozone Monitoring Instrument, or OMI. The device will measure the amount of energy going into and coming out of the Earth, in a technique known as the "backscatter" method. The results of these observations will tell scientists how much ozone is over a particular area, and how much the area is gaining or losing over time. Aura is a complex mission for a complex problem; but simply put, it's critical to understanding and protecting the air we breathe. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links SpaceDaily Search SpaceDaily Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express Earth Observation News - Suppiliers, Technology and Application
New Legislation Initiated To Support Commercial Remote Sensing Industry
New York NY (SPX) Jan 11, 2006The importance of remotely sensed data and technologies to support natural disasters has prompted attention and action in Washington. New initiatives and legislation authorizing appropriations to the remote sensing industry will be discussed at Strategic Research Institute's U.S. Commercial Remote Sensing Industry conference, scheduled for February 9-10, 2006 in Washington D.C. |
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