What is the Ozone Hole? 

Have you ever heard that something called the ozone layer is thinning? Welcome to ozone 101. The ozone holes proper name is the Antarctic ozone hole because when it forms it forms over Antarctica. 

Ozone is a gas comprised of three oxygen atoms, about 90% of the Earth's ozone exists in the stratosphere, the layer of the atmosphere that extends from eight to about 30 miles above the earth's surface. In fact, the stratosphere is often referred to as the ozone layer. Ozone acts as a sunscreen around the Earth filtering out harmful ultraviolet radiation, or UV rays, which are mainly absorbed in the stratosphere. Without an ozone layer, UV radiation would sterilize the Earth with a damaged but still present ozone layer, there will be more sunburns, more skin cancer cases increased cases of eye damage the wilting and loss of trees and plants and significantly lessened crop yields. 

What causes the ozone hole? There are several major factors that together lead to the destruction of ozone, thus creating the ozone hole. Those factors are, one, very strong winds around the South Pole, or the polar vortex, two, to the sun's rays, three, chlorine and bromine compounds from ozone depleting substances, and, four, cold temperatures below negative 109 degrees Fahrenheit in the stratosphere, which form a specific kind of cloud polar stratospheric clouds. 


For more information, visit https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/14037 

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