We know particles from spacecrafts are in the stratosphere. But what this means for the ozone layer or the climate is still unknown.
Concentration of ozone (in Dobson units) as of mid-September 2022, based on measurements by the IASI infrared sounder over 15 years above Antarctica. The extent of damage and geographical distribution of the hole (in blue) varies according to weather conditions.
Anne Boynard/LATMOS
In 1987, the Montreal Protocol established a ban on substances responsible for destroying the ozone layer, which is essential for protection against the sun’s rays.
Rocket emissions in the upper atmosphere can damage the ozone layer but are neither measured nor regulated. It’s a policy gap we have to close if the space industry is to grow sustainably.
Air conditioners are one source of leaking HFCs.
Bruce Yuanyue Bi/The Image Bank via Getty Images
When solar particles reach the Earth, they not only produce spectacular auroras but also contribute to the chemical reactions leading to ozone depletion, which in turn influences climate patterns.
Artificially dimming the sun, by injecting reflective particles into the upper atmosphere, could reduce the risk of Day Zero level droughts in Cape Town by more than 90% in the future.
Molina speaking about climate change at the Guadalajara International Book Fair in Mexico, Nov. 2018.
Leonardo Alvarez/Getty Images
Molina, who died on Oct. 8, ‘thought climate change was the biggest problem in the world long before most people did.’ His research on man-made depletion of the ozone layer won the 1995 Nobel Prize.
New research on the Late Devonian extinction suggests the ozone layer could be naturally depleted as the temperature rises.
Temperatures are warming faster in the Arctic than anywhere else in the world. Water and sewer pipes in Iqaluit, Nunavut, are cracking during the winter as the ground shifts.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
Mosses are the only plants that can withstand life in East Antarctica’s frozen landscape. But a new study shows that life is getting even harder, as ozone loss and climate change make conditions even drier.
Researchers release a balloon carrying instruments to measure ozone levels above Antarctica.
Kelli-Ann Bliss/NOAA
Almost 30 years ago the world responded to the realisation that our ozone layer was in trouble. The resulting Montreal Protocol was a rare example of global cooperation, but there’s no room for complacency.
Distinguished Professor and Deputy Director of ARC Securing Antarctica's Environmental Future (SAEF), University of Wollongong, University of Wollongong
Research Scientist at Space Science Institute and Fellow, Research School of Physics and Engineering and The Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University