Ozone measurements over the Northern Hemisphere, from the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer, or TOMS, satellite. The NASA satellite conducts daily mapping of the Earth's atmospheric ozone. (NASA) |
Researchers observe ozone killerHarvard researchers have implicated a particular molecule in the destruction of Earth's ozone layer. The molecule, made up of two chlorine atoms and two oxygen atoms, is called a chlorine monoxide dimer or chlorine peroxide, Cl-O-O-Cl. It has a crucial role in the process by which chlorine destroys atmospheric ozone. Though a variety of chemicals are implicated in ozone loss in the polar winter stratosphere, chlorine is thought to dominate, with a large contribution from bromine radicals. Scientists have been concerned about the impact of man-made processes on the Earth's ozone layer for decades. The ozone layer, a thin band high in the stratosphere, is responsible for shielding the Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays. |
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