Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are widely accepted as the bad guys in the chemical world. Once used in products like hairspray, foams and air conditioners, CFCs were proven to be damaging to the ozone layer in the mid-70s, thanks to chemists Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina. The scientists published their Molina-Rowland paper which explained how CFCs damaged the layer that protects Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. That Molina-Rowland paper on the ozone layer led to nearly 200 countries signing the Montreal Protocol, a treaty that regulates the use of CFCs.
That means the ozone layer is fixed, right? Not so fast. There’s a new class of compounds that act as damaging greenhouse gases.
The Antarctic ozone hole is the second largest ever observed, in this file photo from 2003. The Antarctic ozone ”hole” is defined as thinning of the ozone layer over the continent to levels significantly below pre-1979 levels. Loss of stratospheric ozone has been linked to skin cancer in humans and other adverse biological effects on plants and animals. Blue represents the lowest ozone levels, while orange and red represent the highest. (Photo: NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio, based on data provided by the TOMS science team.)
Dr. Paul Newman, chief scientist for atmospheric sciences at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, explains the ozone layer in this video. He details how lawmakers and scientists worked in tandem to secure the ozone layer, what threatens to undo all of that work today and how we can move forward.
Yolanda R. Arrington is the content manager for Armed with Science. She is a journalist and social media-ista with a flair for moving pictures and writing.
Information provided by NASA
Follow Armed with Science on Facebook and Twitter!
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Disclaimer: The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense. For other than authorized activities, such as, military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation sites, the Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD website.
from Armed with Science http://ift.tt/1Pl4NmD
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are widely accepted as the bad guys in the chemical world. Once used in products like hairspray, foams and air conditioners, CFCs were proven to be damaging to the ozone layer in the mid-70s, thanks to chemists Sherwood Rowland and Mario Molina. The scientists published their Molina-Rowland paper which explained how CFCs damaged the layer that protects Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. That Molina-Rowland paper on the ozone layer led to nearly 200 countries signing the Montreal Protocol, a treaty that regulates the use of CFCs.
That means the ozone layer is fixed, right? Not so fast. There’s a new class of compounds that act as damaging greenhouse gases.
The Antarctic ozone hole is the second largest ever observed, in this file photo from 2003. The Antarctic ozone ”hole” is defined as thinning of the ozone layer over the continent to levels significantly below pre-1979 levels. Loss of stratospheric ozone has been linked to skin cancer in humans and other adverse biological effects on plants and animals. Blue represents the lowest ozone levels, while orange and red represent the highest. (Photo: NASA GSFC Scientific Visualization Studio, based on data provided by the TOMS science team.)
Dr. Paul Newman, chief scientist for atmospheric sciences at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, explains the ozone layer in this video. He details how lawmakers and scientists worked in tandem to secure the ozone layer, what threatens to undo all of that work today and how we can move forward.
Yolanda R. Arrington is the content manager for Armed with Science. She is a journalist and social media-ista with a flair for moving pictures and writing.
Information provided by NASA
Follow Armed with Science on Facebook and Twitter!
———-
Disclaimer: The appearance of hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the Department of Defense. For other than authorized activities, such as, military exchanges and Morale, Welfare and Recreation sites, the Department of Defense does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD website.
from Armed with Science http://ift.tt/1Pl4NmD
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