Okay, everyone these days knows about the hole in the ozone layer, that blocks a lot of the radiation from reaching the surface. It seesm that this year, the hole's been getting larger (compared to last year), but not quite as big as the record size in 2000.
My question is... why is there just ONE hole in the ozone layer? How come the South Pole is the happenin' place, and not the North Pole too? I'd assume that it has something to do with atmospheric dynamics, but I would've guessed that there'd be a sort of "mirror" effect, with holes at both poles.
Anyone know anything about that?
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
I think it is because of the particle folloing the magnetic field, out of the north pole and in to the south. I read an article that the 'global warming' isn't affecting the south pole much is because of this in falling of stuff, making it a constant snow fall.
If they can make small ozone machines to clean the air in a room why can't they make big ozone machines to fix the bloody hole?
Posted by Bond, James Bond (Member # 1127) on :
You're correct Dan about it being related to atmospheric phenomena. It has to do with the extreme cold of Antarctica, which is much colder then even the North Pole.
The extreme cold causes clouds called Polar Stratospheric Clouds to form made of a mixture of water ice crystals, water ice crystals mixed with nitric acid, and liquid water droplets mixed with both Nitric and Sulfuric Acid.
CFC's break down ozone in a cycle of reactions mainly involving the radical Chlorine Oxide (CIO). In most parts of the stratosphere, CIO reacts with Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) a radical created by both natural and artificial causes (pollution). This creates CIONO2. This prevents CIO from reacting with more ozone, thus slowing down ozone depletion - ironically, pollution both causes and stops ozone depletion in a way.
However, in Antarctica, the Polar Stratospheric Clouds are a catalyst for a chemical reaction between CIONO2 and Hydrogen Chloride (HCI) which comes from both natural sources and from the breakdown of CFC's which happen everywhere. This reaction produces Nitric Acid and Chlorine (CI2) which then breaks down into Chlorine radicals when exposed to UV radiation from the Sun and the Chlorine radicals destroy the ozone layer.
So basically the Polar Stratospheric Clouds prevent the normal breakdown of CIO which happens when it reacts with NO2 to form CIONO2 and thus the South Pole has a Ozone Hole where the rest of the world doesn't.
Ozone depletion does happen elsewhere but not even close to the scale it does in Antarctica and not enough to form a hole.
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
Who's Dan???
Posted by Topher (Member # 71) on :
MinutiaeMan = Dan
Posted by Bond, James Bond (Member # 1127) on :
I'm sorry, that's my bad. I know Minutiae Man from over on the SCN board and that's why I called him Dan (it's also easier to remember how to spell then Minutiae anyway )
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
Okay, I was curious....
I guess I need to spend more time over at SCN, ,I keep getting the updates, at 3:00 am....
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
quote:Originally posted by Ritten: If they can make small ozone machines to clean the air in a room why can't they make big ozone machines to fix the bloody hole?
They make machines that fill a room with ozone? And this is a good idea?
Posted by Ritten (Member # 417) on :
at a 10 ozone molecules to 1 CFC molecule it works out, although you aren't suppoed to be in the room with the machine running. Hotels all across the coutry use them to decontaminate a room after a smoker ends up in a non-smoking room. Plug it in, turn it on, leave, come back two hours later (for and average sized room), turn it off and you have a nice room again....
Posted by PsyLiam (Member # 73) on :
But (and I'll admit my chemistry knowledge is fairly shakey), er, isn't ozone all poisoness and stuff?
Posted by Cartman (Member # 256) on :
Ozone is just a very reactive (not poisonous) form of oxygen... the stuff's a major air pollutant in the lower atmosphere but a beneficial component of the upper one, ironically enough.
![[Wink]](wink.gif)
)