Is there still a hole in the ozone?
The ozone hole is usually measured by reduction in the total column ozone above a point on the Earth’s surface. In 2017, NASA announced that the ozone hole was the weakest since 1988 because of warm stratospheric conditions. It is expected to recover around 2070.
How big is the hole in the O zone?
During recent years with normal weather conditions, the ozone hole has typically grown to a maximum of 20 million sq km (8 million sq miles). The 2020 Arctic ozone hole was also very large and deep, and peaked at roughly three times the size of the continental US.
How big is the hole in the ozone layer 2021?
24.8 million square kilometers
Aura’s Microwave Limb Sounder also estimates levels of ozone-destroying chlorine. This year, NASA satellite observations determined the ozone hole reached a maximum of 24.8 million square kilometers (9.6 million square miles)—roughly the size of North America—before beginning to shrink in mid-October.
How big was the ozone hole in 1985?
The maximum depth of the hole that year was 194 Dobson Units (DU)—not far below the previous historical low. For several years, the minimum concentrations stayed in the 190s, but then the minimums rapidly grew deeper: 173 DU in 1982, 154 in 1983, 124 in 1985.
Why is the ozone hole in Australia?
The ozone layer is depleted in two ways. Firstly, the ozone layer in the mid-latitude (e.g. over Australia) is thinned, leading to more UV radiation reaching the earth. Secondly, the ozone layer over the Antarctic, and to a lesser extent the Arctic, is dramatically thinned in spring, leading to an ‘ozone hole’.
Why is the ozone hole closing?
The record-breaking 2020 Antarctic ozone hole finally closed at the end of December after an exceptional season due to naturally occurring meteorological conditions and the continued presence of ozone depleting substances in the atmosphere.
Can you create an ozone layer?
It is however less known that ozone can be artificially produced, so that it can be used for water treatment. Ozone generators can create ozone artificially by means of extremely high voltages or by means of UV-light. Both methods involve the decomposition of the oxygen molecule. This causes oxygen radical formation.
Which country has the biggest hole in the ozone layer?
A NASA instrument has detected an Antarctic ozone “hole” (what scientists call an “ozone depletion area”) that is three times larger than the entire land mass of the United States—the largest such area ever observed.
Where is the ozone layer broken?
Ozone depletion is not limited to the area over the South Pole. Research has shown that ozone depletion occurs over the latitudes that include North America, Europe, Asia, and much of Africa, Australia, and South America.
Where is the world’s largest ozone hole located?
Antarctic
The 2020 Antarctic ozone hole grew rapidly from mid-August and peaked at around 24.8 million square kilometres on 20 September 2020, spreading over most of the Antarctic continent. It was the longest-lasting and one of the largest and deepest holes since the ozone layer monitoring began 40 years ago.