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This web page is set up for the better understanding of the ozone layer and some of the problems the earth and its inhabitants are having.
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The Earth is the third plantet in our solar system, with an atmosphere 78%Nitrogen 21%Oxygen and some trace elements . With this combination of element gases it has provided us with a livable ecosystem for millions of years. The atmosphere of the earth has been going through some changes due to the fact of modern man's pollution that is harmful to the ozone layer. Countless molecules of carbon dioxide, water ,ozone ,methane,nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons are key players in the interactions that dictate global temperatures and ozone depletion.Ozone Depletion and Global Warming have been compared as the same thing but they are totally different . Global warming is caused from the green house effect , which is the warming of the lower atmosphere by greenhouse gases . This mainly caused from human activites and could cause long term higher temperatures on the Earth's surface.The thinning of the ozone is best known as the "The Ozone Hole" between 1988 and 1995 the thinning above Antarctica increased by 10% that could cover an area twice as big as Europe. The Earth has several layers to its atmosphere ,the Troposphere is where all life takes place . The Stratosphere is the region where the ozone hole and global warming originate . Ozone forms in the stratosphere and is thinnest in the tropics and thickest at the poles. Ozone is measured in Dobson Units (DU) . The DU is named for G.M.B. Dobson who made some of the first studies on the atmosphere . DU measures the total amount of ozone in an overhead column of atmosphere .The Dobson unit are measured by how thick the layer of ozone would be compressed into one layer at 0 degrees Centigrade and with standard temperature and pressure. For every 0.01 millimeter thickness of the layer is equal to one Dobson Unit.
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Problems for Earths inhabitants
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Skin cancer is caused by over exposure to the sun and its UV light . The level of UV light is about 20% higher than it was 50 years ago. This is due to the reduction of the ozone layer , with less ozone more harmful UV light will reach the Earth's surface.Since 1994 only 1% of all penguin chicks have survived . This is due to the fact that the rookerys are being filled up by the oceans before the eggs have time to hatch and the chicks leave the nest.These are just two small examples of how the thinning of ozone layer has effected life on earth.
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Repairing the Damage
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The first global agreement to reduce CFC's was the Montreal Protocol of 1987 which will cut in half the production by the year 2000, and by 2030 all CFC's will be discontinued. By 2010 all methyl bromide production will be phased out . Only a small amout of medical sprays will be allowed to contain CFC's as propellant.Such international accords are steps in the right direction , of course , these goals can be met ,it will be 50 years before the ozone layer will be at the 1985 level and possibly 200 years before it reaches full recovery.
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