Depletion Of The Ozone Layer :: essays research papers

The ozone layer diminishes more each year. As the vault of heaven of polar ozone depletion (commonly called the ozone hole) gets larger, additional ultraviolet rays are allowed to pass through. These rays sustain cancer, cataracts, and get down immunity to diseases.1 What causes the depletion of the ozone layer?     In 1970, Crutzen first showed that nitrogen oxides produced by decaying nitric oxide from soil-borne microbes react catalytically with ozone hastening its depletion. His findings started research on "global biogeochemical cycles" as rise up as the effects of supersonic transport aircraft that release nitrogen oxide into the stratosphere.2      In 1974, Molina and Rowland found that human-made chlorofluorocarbons used for making foam, cleaning fluids, refrigerants, and repellents transform into ozone-depleting agents.3     Chlorofluorocarbons stay in the atmosphere for several decades due to their l ong tropospheric lifetimes. These compounds are carried into the stratosphere where they lowgo hundreds of catalytic cycles with ozone.4 They are broken down into chlorine atoms by ultraviolet radiation.5 centiliter acts as the catalyst for breaking down atomic oxygen and molecular ozone into two molecules of molecular oxygen. The basic set of answers that involve this process are                    Cl + O3 -->ClO + O2 and                    ClO + O -->Cl + O2     The net result                    O3 + O -->2O2      centiliter is initially removed in the first equation by the reaction with ozone to form chlorine monoxide. Then it is regenerated through the reaction with monatomic oxygen in the sec ond equation. The net result of the two reactions is the depletion of ozone and atomic oxygen.6Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), halons, and methyl bromide are a few of the ozone depletion substances (ODS) that break down ozone under intense ultraviolet light. The bromine and fluorine in these chemicals act as catalysts, reforming ozone (O3) molecules and monatomic oxygen into molecular oxygen (O2).In volcanic outbreaks, the sulphate aerosols released are a natural cause of ozone depletion. The hydrolysis of N2O5 on sulfate aerosols, joined with the reaction with chlorine in HCl, ClO, ClONO2 and bromine compounds, causes the breakdown of ozone. The sulfate aerosols cause chemical reactions in addition to chlorine and bromine reactions on stratospheric clouds that crush the ozone.8     Some ozone depletion is due to volcanic eruptions. Analysis of the El Chichon volcanic eruption in 1983 found ozone destruction in areas of higher aerosol tightfistedness (Hofmann an d Solomon, "Ozone Destruction through Heterogeneous Chemistry Following the Eruption of El Chichon"). They deduced that the "aerosol particles act as a base for multiphase reactions in the lead