Innovation

Images: NASA says ozone layer is healing

By // September 6, 2006, 12:25 AM PST // billdetwiler

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  • Studies by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirm that the Earth's ozone layer is mending.

    The layer of ozone which lies mainly in the Earth's stratosphere protects humans from harmful rays of the sun. The amount of ozone in the atmosphere steadily decreased from 1979 to 1997 when it began to level off. Researchers have no doubt that the increase in ozone is because nations followed the 1987 Montreal Protocol on the Substances that Deplete the Ozone. The Montreal Protocols phased out many halogenated hydrocarbons that had played a role in ozone depletion.

    The image on the left displays the largest hole in the ozone layer over Antactica on Sept. 10, 2000. Right is the ozone hole on Aug. 27, 2006. It can be tracked daily on the Ozone Hole Watch.

    NASA/NOAA

  • The chart shows NASA/NOAA satellite data comparing stratospheric chlorine and the thickness of the ozone layer. As stratospheric chlorine declined in response to the Montreal Protocol, the amount of stratospheric chlorine began to decline while the ozone layer began to recover.

    NASA

  • During the first stages of ozone recovery, the ozone hole over Antarctica splits into two.

    NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

  • The maps show how ozone dissipated from the Earth's atmosphere from 1981 to its lowest levels in 1999.

  • NASA researchers recently confirmed that "long waves," or bands of atmospheric energy that circle the Earth, regulate the temperature in the atmosphere over the Artic, and control ozone loss in the stratosphere.

    Eric Nash and Paul Newman, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

Studies by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirm that the Earth's ozone layer is mending.

The layer of ozone which lies mainly in the Earth's stratosphere protects humans from harmful rays of the sun. The amount of ozone in the atmosphere steadily decreased from 1979 to 1997 when it began to level off. Researchers have no doubt that the increase in ozone is because nations followed the 1987 Montreal Protocol on the Substances that Deplete the Ozone. The Montreal Protocols phased out many halogenated hydrocarbons that had played a role in ozone depletion.

The image on the left displays the largest hole in the ozone layer over Antactica on Sept. 10, 2000. Right is the ozone hole on Aug. 27, 2006. It can be tracked daily on the Ozone Hole Watch.

NASA/NOAA

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By Bill Detwiler

Bill Detwiler is Managing Editor of TechRepublic and Tech Pro Research and the host of Cracking Open, CNET and TechRepublic's popular online show. Prior to joining TechRepublic in 2000, Bill was an IT manager, database administrator, and desktop supp...