Ozone pollution increases in Antarctica

Ozone gas has a pungent or acrid odor. It is formed when sunlight reacts with

gases generated during industrial and transport activities, combustion of biomass or with gases that appear as a result of the activity of microorganisms.

Most ozone is found at an altitude of about 30km above the Earth in the ozone layer. Let us recall that this is the part of the stratosphere at an altitude of 20 to 40 km, with the highest content of ozone, formed as a result of the influence of UV radiation from the Sun on molecular oxygen.

As you know, the ozone layer protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation. But, at the same time, ozone in the lower atmosphere, or troposphere, is harmful and respiratory diseases.

In addition, the molecule captures heat 1000 timesbetter than carbon dioxide and therefore has a huge impact on global warming. Previous studies have shown an increase in tropospheric ozone across the Southern Hemisphere, but regional studies for the remote Antarctic continent have not been conducted for a long time. In the new work, scientists have determined where ozone comes from in Antarctica and how its levels change over time.

Researchers collected data from 1992 to 2018at ground level, and in the lower atmosphere down to the ozone layer at eight stations throughout Antarctica. Their analysis showed that December, January and February had the least amount of ozone throughout the troposphere. Let us remember that these months correspond to summer in the Southern Hemisphere. During this period, the sun's rays are most active in breaking down ozone.

The study showed that for 25 years in the troposphereover Antarctica, ozone accumulated as a result of migration from the stratosphere, where more than 90% of all atmospheric ozone is concentrated, and was formed in the surface layer from natural and anthropogenic sources.

Scientists say their research —this is a warning". Due to ozone's ability to retain heat at the Earth's surface, the tendency for the gas to increase threatens to have negative consequences for the region in the future.

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