A dark deep freeze engulfs the C-130 research plane on the runway at Churchill, Manitoba, in February 2000.
Click on image for full size
Photo courtesy of the National Center for Atmospheric Research/UCAR/NSF
Where Has All The Ozone Gone?
News story originally written on February 27, 2001
You may have heard of the Ozone Hole. The Ozone Hole is a region of the atmosphere above Antarctica where there are really low concentrations of ozone. This depletion is found in
the stratosphere level of the atmosphere. Lower ozone concentrations in the stratosphere means higher UV levels at the surface of
the Earth. Increased UV rays can be harmful to people and other life such as plants!
A study last spring done by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) had a plane fly
really low over Hudson Bay, Baffin Bay, and parts of the Arctic Ocean. These areas are in the northern hemisphere - really far away from Antarctica. Measurements taken from the plane showed that there are low ozone levels in the troposphere around those regions. Usually, we think of stratospheric ozone as a good thing and tropospheric ozone as a pollutant. So, less ozone near the surface could actually be a good thing.
Scientists do not see these low ozone levels around the Arctic as a threat, but they do point to how much we still don't know about the atmosphere!
This study was part of the TOPSE experiment (Tropospheric Ozone Production about the Spring Equinox) led by NCAR which is managed by UCAR (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research).
You might also be interested in:
It was another exciting and frustrating year for the space science program. It seemed that every step forward led to one backwards. Either way, NASA led the way to a great century of discovery. Unfortunately,
...more
The Space Shuttle Discovery lifted off from Kennedy Space Center on October 29th at 2:19 p.m. EST. The weather was great as Discovery took 8 1/2 minutes to reach orbit. This was the United States' 123rd
...more
A moon was discovered orbiting the asteroid, Eugenia. This is only the second time in history that a satellite has been seen circling an asteroid. A special mirror allowed scientists to find the moon
...more
Will Russia ever put the service module for the International Space Station in space? NASA officials want an answer from the Russian government. The necessary service module is currently waiting to be
...more
A coronal mass ejection (CME) happened on the Sun early last month. The material that was thrown out from this explosion passed the ACE spacecraft. The SWICS instrument on ACE has produced a new and very
...more
J.S. Maini of the Canadian Forest Service called forests the "heart and lungs of the world." This is because forests filter air and water pollution, absorb carbon dioxide, release oxygen, and maintain
...more
In late April through mid-May 2002, all five naked-eye planets are visible at the same time in the night sky! This is includes Mercury which is generally very hard to see. You won't want to miss this!
...more
