ozone layer
ozone layer
ozone layer
o′zone lay`er
n.
ozone layer
| Noun | 1. |  ozone layer - a layer in the stratosphere (at approximately 20 miles) that contains a concentration of ozone sufficient to block most ultraviolet radiation from the sun |
n.
ozone layer
ozone layer
orozonosphere,
region of the stratospherestratosphere, second lowest layer of the earth's atmosphere. The level from which it extends outward varies with latitude; it begins c.5 1-2 mi (9 km) above the poles, c.6 or 7 mi (c.10 or 11 km) in the middle latitudes, and c.10 mi (16 km) at the equator, and extends outward c.
..... Click the link for more information. containing relatively high concentrations of ozoneozone
, an allotropic form of the chemical element oxygen (see allotropy). Pure ozone is an unstable, faintly bluish gas with a characteristic fresh, penetrating odor. The gas has a density of 2.144 grams per liter at STP.
..... Click the link for more information. , located at altitudes of 12–30 mi (19–48 km) above the earth's surface. Ozone in the ozone layer is formed by the action of solar ultraviolet light on oxygen.
The ozone layer prevents most ultraviolet (UV) and other high-energy radiation from penetrating to the earth's surface but does allow through sufficient ultraviolet rays to support the activation of vitamin D in humans. The full radiation, if unhindered by this filtering effect, would destroy animal tissue. Higher levels of radiation resulting from the depletion of the ozone layer have been linked with increases in skin cancersskin cancer,
malignant tumor of the skin. The most common types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma. Rarer forms include mycosis fungoides (a type of lymphoma) and Kaposi's sarcoma.
..... Click the link for more information. and cataractscataract,
in medicine, opacity of the lens of the eye, which impairs vision. In the young, cataracts are generally congenital or hereditary; later they are usually the result of degenerative changes brought on by aging or systemic disease (diabetes).
..... Click the link for more information. and have been implicated in the decline of certain amphibian species.
In 1974 scientists warned that certain industrial chemicals, e.g., chlorofluorocarbonschlorofluorocarbons
(CFCs), organic compounds that contain carbon, chlorine, and fluorine atoms. CFCs are highly effective refrigerants that were developed in response to the pressing need to eliminate toxic and flammable substances, such as sulfur dioxide and ammonia, in
..... Click the link for more information. (CFCs) and to a lesser extent, halons and carbon tetrachloride, could migrate to the stratosphere. There, sunlight could free the chlorine or bromine atoms to form chlorine monoxide or other chemicals, which would deplete upper-atmospheric ozone. A seasonal decrease, or "hole," in the ozone layer above Antarctica, first discovered in 1982 and reported in 1985, was the first confirmation of a thinning of the layer. The hole occurs over Antarctica because the extreme cold helps the very high clouds characteristic of that area form tiny ice particles of water and nitric acid, which facilitate the chemical reactions involved. In addition, the polar winds, which follow a swirling pattern, create a confined vortex, trapping the chemicals. When the Antarctic spring sun rises in August or September and hits the trapped chemicals, a chain reaction begins in which chlorine, bromine (from the halons), and ice crystals react with the ozone and destroy it very quickly. The effect usually lasts through November. There is a corresponding hole over the Arctic that similarly appears in the spring, although in some years warmer winters there do not result in a major depletion of the ozone layer. A global thinning of the ozone layer results as ozone-rich air from the remaining ozone layer flows into the ozone-poor areas.
Minimum ozone levels in the Antarctic decreased steadily throughout the 1990s, and less dramatic decreases have been found above other areas of the world. In 2000 (and again in 2003 and 2006) the hole reached a record size, extending over more than 10.5 million sq mi (27 million sq km), an area greater than that of North America. In 1987 an international agreement, the Montreal ProtocolMontreal Protocol,
officially the Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer, treaty signed on Sept. 16, 1987, at Montreal by 25 nations; 197 nations are now parties to the accord.
..... Click the link for more information. , was reached on reducing the production of ozone-depleting compounds. Revisions in 1992 called for an end to the production of the worst of such compounds by 1996, and CFC emissions dropped dramatically by 1993. Recovery of the ozone layer, however, is expected to take 50 to 100 years. Damage to the ozone layer can also be caused by sulfuric acid droplets produced by volcanic eruptions.
ozone layer
(oh -zohn) See atmospheric layers.Ozone layer
ozone layer
[′ō‚zōn ‚lā·ər]ozonosphere
ozone layer
ozone layer
that part of the TROPOSPHERE between 15 and 30km in altitude.ozone layer
- noun
Synonyms for ozone layer
noun a layer in the stratosphere (at approximately 20 miles) that contains a concentration of ozone sufficient to block most ultraviolet radiation from the sun
Synonyms
- ozonosphere
Related Words
- layer
- ozone hole
- stratosphere
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