According to a new study, the shrinking of the ozone layer over the Arctic is much worse than previously believed. In Climate change set to poke holes in ozone, Nature tells us it is a side-effect of global warming, the polar stratospheric clouds absorbing more and more industrial chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
"I was surprised to see these results," says Drew Shindell, an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York. "We never suspected the models were this far out of whack," he says. It remains to be seen if this new model is more accurate than previous ones. However, even if we reduce the emission of CFCs in a near future, another big unknown, the ozone layer will continue to shrink for decades to come.
This overview contains more details and references. It also includes pictures of these polar clouds seen from space and from the ground (the one from space is amazing!).
"I was surprised to see these results," says Drew Shindell, an atmospheric scientist at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York. "We never suspected the models were this far out of whack," he says. It remains to be seen if this new model is more accurate than previous ones. However, even if we reduce the emission of CFCs in a near future, another big unknown, the ozone layer will continue to shrink for decades to come.
This overview contains more details and references. It also includes pictures of these polar clouds seen from space and from the ground (the one from space is amazing!).
| :: posted by Roland Piquepaille, 1:43 PM |
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