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NASA
Low ozone measured over north pole
News story originally written on April 8, 1997
Very low levels of ozone were measured over the Arctic during March by several
satellites. Ozone is a chemical that lies in the stratosphere and protects us
from harmful solar radiation.
Though the levels of ozone at the northern ice cap are much higher than those in
the Antarctic, they are very unusual. The levels of ozone are 40% lower than
those
measured between 1979-1982.
According to NASA scientist Dr. Pawan Bhartia,
"These are the lowest ozone values ever measured by the TOMS instruments during
late-March in the Arctic." The TOMS instrument is just one of many satellites
used by NOAA/NASA to measure ozone levels in the stratosphere. These low ozone
measurements are currently perplexing scientists across the globe. Reasons as
to why this occurring is expected to be explained soon.
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