First signs of ozone-hole recovery spotted
Posted by
Shalista on 5/24/2011, 1:47 pm
http://www.nature.com/news/2011/110516/full/news.2011.293.html
Antarctic ozone layer bouncing back after the phase-out of chlorofluorocarbons.
James Mitchell Crow
The average size of the Antarctic ozone hole in October 2010. Its recovery has so far been masked by annual fluctuations.NASAThe hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica is starting to heal, say researchers in Australia. The team is the first to detect a recovery in baseline average springtime ozone levels in the region, 22 years after the Montreal Protocol to ban chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and related ozone-destroying chemicals came into force.
Each spring, those chlorine- and bromine-releasing chemicals eat a hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctic. Thanks to the Montreal agreement, levels of anthropogenic ozone depleters detected in the region's stratosphere have been falling since around the turn of the millennium. However, detecting any corresponding ozone recovery has been difficult.
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First signs of ozone-hole recovery spotted - Shalista, 5/24/2011, 1:47 pm
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