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Chemical Model Animation of CFCs Releasing Chlorine to Form Reservoir Gases
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Most stratospheric chlorine comes from man-made compounds called chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs. CFCs, widely used in refrigerators and air conditioners, are quite harmless and non-reactive in the lower atmosphere. Carried slowly upward by the earth's winds, they can survive the 5 year journey to the upper stratosphere. Here, above most of the ozone layer, the sun's ultraviolet radiation breaks down the CFCs into the more reactive chlorine compounds that destroy ozone. Chlorine can react with methane to form hydrogen chloride. Chlorine can also react with ozone forming the radical chlorine monoxide. Chlorine monoxide then combines with the radical nitrogen dioxide to form stable chlorine nitrate. Chlorine nitrate and hydrogen chloride are called reservoir gases for the chlorine radical. These reservoir gases usually contain more than ninety percent of the chlorine in the lower stratosphere.
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CFCs being broken up by UV radiation and the formation of hydrogen chloride and chlorine nitrate from the resulting chlorine
Duration: 56.0 seconds
Available formats:
352x240 (29.97 fps)
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7 MB
160x80
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11 KB
80x40
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3 KB
320x242
JPEG
5 KB
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| Animation Number: | 826 |
| Animators: | James W. Williams (SVS) (Lead) |
| | Jesse Allen (SVS) |
| | Greg Shirah (SVS) |
| Completed: | 1999-04-09 |
| Scientist: | Mark Schoeberl (NASA/GSFC) |
| Series: | UARS |
| Video: | SVS1999-1001 * |
Keywords:
SVS
>> Chlorofluorocarbons
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More Information on this topic available at:
stories/UARS/ozone_models.html
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Please give credit for this item to
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center
Scientific Visualization Studio |
*Please note: the SVS does not fulfill requests for copies of the tapes in our library. On some of our animation pages, there is a direct link to a video distribution service from which tapes, handled by the Public Affairs Office (PAO)/Goddard TV, including some of our animations may be ordered. General information on this service can be found here. |
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