Global Warming To Aggravate Ozone Depletion Say Scientists  Ozone Depletion Pateerns |
A new phenomenon sees the merger of global warming and ozone depletion- Rapid climate change will now worsen the already depleted ozone layer.
The climate change is now set to redistribute the shrunken ozone layer to expose southern parts of the earth to more than 20 percent UV radiation as claimed by a study from Canada.
The cancer causing UV radiation coming in from the sun is thwarted by the protective ozone layer that is found in the earth’s stratosphere. UV radiation is also known to cause genetic variations among people exposed to it.
The Toronto based researchers; Theodore Shepherd and Michaela Hegglin believe that the rising temperatures will change the circulation of the earth’s upper atmosphere. The results arise from a computer generated model that highlights the impact of climate change over the next 100 years. The researchers claim the rising temperatures will cause a measurable increase in the movement of ozone from the earth’s upper to lower atmosphere.
This movement of ozone layer downwards will mean less protection and more incident UV radiation on us. The impact of this on life is manifold; it will further speed up the changing climate thus creating an accelerated vicious cycle of climate change and ozone layer depletion.
In a strange twist, this redistribution of the ozone layer will help the Northern Hemisphere’s high latitudes with a nine percent decrease in UV radiation there.
To confirm the research, observers have noticed increased ground-level ozone on Europe’s mountains and the west coasts of North America and Europe indicating the change has already started.
Ozone is chemically composed of three oxygen atoms. Ironically, the very same UV radiation that it is designed to protect us, helps create it. The UV rays break up oxygen molecules on the earth’s surface to create ozone. Without the ozone layer, life on earth would not have been possible.
