Stockton College

Ozone
Submitted by: Diane Milleson

GIS-3654
Professor Grguric
June 26, 2014

Introduction
In 1840, Swiss chemist Christian Schonbein discovered ozone. He named it ozein, which
means to smell in Greek. Today, it is evident that ozone is a molecule that is essential to
human life on Earth. While too much ozone in the lower atmosphere can cause health impacts,
too little ozone in the upper atmosphere could be deadly. As humans develop the planet further,
they negatively impact the protection that the ozone lends us. In 1985, it was discovered that
industrial chemicals were causing a massive hole in the ozone layer over the Southern
Hemisphere (Nardo 7). This led scientists all around the globe to search for solutions before the
problem worsened.
While humans have undoubtedly caused the hole in the stratospheric ozone, they have
also created unwanted ozone in the lower atmosphere. This is caused by the reliance on fossil
fuels for industry and transportation. The ozone that is created through these processes can have
negative impacts on plants and animals around the globe. Both of these issues, along with the
resulting health impacts, pose a very serious threat to the future of life on Earth. It is the current
generations responsibly to take action, and create solutions. If not, the future generation, and
their health, will be severely impacted.

Atmospheric Layers
There are five gaseous layers of the atmosphere that are characterized according to the
variation in physical properties, particularly temperature. These layers are the troposphere,
stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere. The troposphere is the layer that
consists of seventy-five percent of the mass of the entire atmosphere. This layer reaches from sea
level to about nine miles above the Earths surface, depending on latitude (Newton 21). This is

the most turbulent layer, where clouds and weather systems are located. The troposphere is
heated from the surface by infrared radiation and convection. The temperature of this layer
decreases as the altitude increases, and reaches the upper boundary at the stratosphere.
The stratosphere is the next atmospheric layer, and is about twelve to twenty miles thick.
In this layer, the difference in temperature that occurs prevents vertical air movement. This leads
to stability in this layer. Heating occurs from the absorption of high-energy ultraviolet radiation
from the sun by ozone (O3) particles. Ozone is an allotrope of oxygen, meaning that there are
two or more forms of oxygen with different chemical and physical properties. Molecules of
ozone contain three atoms each and are represented by the chemical formula O3 (Newtown 3).
These ozone molecules were previously formed by the reaction between incoming solar
ultraviolet radiation and atmospheric oxygen. This continuous reaction leads to a concentration
of ozone located at the top of this layer, known as the ozone layer. This region contains around
ninety percent of the atmospheres ozone.
Early in the development of the Earths atmosphere, the ozone layer had not formed yet.
For this reason, the planet was blasted with high-intensity ultraviolet rays. These rays are very
harmful to complex organisms, so for this reason, any animals that inhabited earth at this time
had to remain in the ocean (Nardo 4). Eventually, oxygen that was released by plant life rose into
the atmosphere and began creating the ozone layer. This process allowed the plants and animals
to gradually leave the oceans, and establish themselves on land. Therefore, if there was no ozone
layer in the stratosphere, there would be no life on Earth either.
Above the stratosphere is the mesosphere, where temperatures fall with altitude to reach
-90oC. The ozone becomes less plentiful in this layer, which results in the decrease of heat input
from the ultraviolet absorption by ozone. Above this region, the thermosphere has a temperature

that increases with altitude as the Suns distant ultraviolet radiation becomes absorbed by oxygen
and nitrogen. This results in the ionization of atoms and molecules, which leads to the formation
of the ionosphere layers around an altitude of thirty-seven miles (Newton 5). This is the realm of
meteors and aurorae. The final layer, the exosphere, is the region where the altitude is three
hundred and ten miles and above. This is the layer where atmospheric elements lose collisional
contact as a result of the low density, and contains the Van Allen Belts.

Tropospheric Ozone
Low-level ozone, or tropospheric ozone, results from natural causes and human activity.
Ozone in the lower atmosphere can result in damage to humans lungs and plants. It can also
combine with other chemicals that are located in the lower atmosphere (Sandak 22). In this layer
of the atmosphere is dangerous to plants and animals, including humans. In the troposphere,
ozone is created through a complex series of reactions associated with the combustible of fossil
fuels. It is most often found in the air above urban areas. This is because the sunlight initiates
these reactions among the products that are released from the car and truck exhausts (Nardo 22).
These exhausts contain various chemicals, such as nitric acid and hydrocarbons. When these
chemicals reach with the sun, or one another, one of the by-products is ozone.
Emissions that are created by factories that are powered by burning of coal, gas, and oil
produce ozone as well. Humans also create ozone through the smoke from large fires they create.
In Brazil, farmers burn excess vegetation that grows around their sugarcane stalks (Sandak 13).
Developers in Brazil, and other countries, burn forests for crops and development. The chemicals
that are in the smoke of these fires react with sunlight to create ozone.

There are also ways that ozone is created by natural processes that are always producing
ozone. Lightning bolts, for example, split apart oxygen molecules in the air which frees atoms.
These atoms can join with other atoms to create ozone. Tissues of decaying plants and animals
release gaseous methane, which interacts with sunlight to make ozone. During photosynthesis,
trees release hydrocarbons as well, and these react with the sunlight to create ozone (Nardo 20).

Stratospheric Ozone
Stratospheric ozone is located in the upper atmosphere, and is very beneficial to landdwelling organisms. This ozone, unlike tropospheric ozone, is produced solely by natural
processes. The energy from the sun causes oxygen molecules to break apart into two oxygen
atoms. Each one of these oxygen atoms can then readily attach itself to a molecule of oxygen,
and ozone is formed (Stolarski 1992). Once formed, ozone also has a tendency to break down
into diatomic and monatomic oxygen, O2 and O. The formation of ozone takes place mainly
during the day. The destruction of ozone takes place mostly at nighttime. These opposite
reactions have reached a state of equilibrium as the atmosphere has evolved. The concentration
of ozone in the stratosphere today totals ten parts per million. Stratospheric ozone forms in a
layer that extends from about nine miles to eighteen miles above the Earths surface.

Seasonal and Annual Changes in Atmospheric Ozone

Every austral spring the amount of ozone over the Antarctic decreases, which leads to the
development of a hole in the ozone. This hole lasts from September to November, and the hole
in 1991 can be seen using NASAs TOMS instrument. In the summer, the total ozone increases
and the hole is patched until the next spring. The loss was first recognized in 1985, and in 1988

the ozone hole reached the largest size to date. The next year, in 1989, the hole in the ozone was
slightly smaller than it had been. In 2000, the hole grew again, exceeding the existing record.
Then, in 2002, the hole was the smallest it had been since 1988. In 2003, the ozone hole became
so large that it extended beyond the entire continent of Antarctica and covered the ocean as well
(Stolarski 1992). The following year, the hole was almost twenty percent smaller. As for
tropospheric ozone, the levels of ozone in the lower atmosphere have not changed much from
year to year. In 1999 the levels went down slightly, and from 2000 to 2003, they increased again.
However, low-level ozone still remains a threat to human health.

History of the Ozone Hole

In the 1970s, scientists began to worry about threats to the ozone layer. These scientists
had reported a quantifiable decrease in the normal amounts of upper-level ozone. This began a
search for the causes of this deterioration. At this time, they were concerned about two threats in
particular. These concerns were rockets that were being fired off by NASA, and the proposal of
supersonic aircraft (Newton 67). Their calculations suggested that the chlorine atoms that are
released by rockets and supersonic aircraft had the capability of destroying ozone molecules,
thus harming the ozone layer.
Studies on the topic revealed that chlorine is deadly to ozone. A single chlorine atom can
destroy 10,000 to 100,000 ozone molecules (Nardo 50). However, it was soon revealed that these
were not the only threats to the ozone. In 1974, American scientists Mario Molina and F.
Sherwood Rowland theorized that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) could release chlorine into the
stratosphere and damage the ozone later. Their predictions were that CFCs could cause a seven
to thirteen percent loss of ozone in the next hundred years (Somerville 45).

Chlorofluorocarbons are simple, organic compounds that consist of carbon, fluorine, and
chlorine. In the 1930s, CFCs were given the name Freon and were introduced as refrigerants in
commercial products. They became popular as propellants in aerosol cans after World War II.
Many commercial products, such as deodorants, hairsprays, spray paints, and pesticides, used
CFCs as a propellant (Nardo 43).
For many years, the scientists and industrial corporations considered CFCs to be an
almost perfect commercial product. They are fairly cheap to manufacture, and have ideal
characteristics. CFCs are stable, nontoxic, nonflammable, and odorless. In 1950, the production
of CFCs was less than 100,000 metric tons. Just twenty years later, more than 800,000 metric
tons were being produced.
By the middle of the 1970s, there began to be concerns about CFCs effects on the
atmosphere. The research being conducted showed that energy from the sun could cause CFC
molecules to break apart. This process would release a free chlorine atom, which could then
attack and destroy an ozone molecule (Newton 26). When this reaction is over, the chlorine atom
is regenerated, which can then attack another ozone molecule. This is the reason that a single
chlorine atom can cause the destruction thousands of ozone molecules. Due to the stability of
CFC molecules, scientists also predicted that they would remain in the atmosphere for decades or
even centuries. CFC-11, a member of the CFC family, has a lifetime of sixty years. CFC-12,
another member, has a lifetime of one hundred and twenty years (Somerville 34).
In 1978, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was convinced that CFCs posed a
threat to the Earths atmosphere. For this reason, they banned the use of CFCs as propellants in
aerosol cans. However, they had little success preventing their use in other products such as in
refrigeration systems or Styrofoam products (Nardo 53). Industries claimed that the scientific

evidence that the ozone was damaged was inconclusive. They also stated that there was no
alternative product available, which could be used as effectively with so many significant
applications. For this reason, CFCs were still used despite the evidence of their damaging effects
to the ozone.
On May 16, 1985, this hypothesis was proven to be accurate. On this date, a team of
British scientists working at an Antarctic research station headed by Dr. James Farman reported
their finding in the journal Nature (Somerville 87). These findings revealed that there was a large
decrease in the concentration of ozone over the Antarctic. The measurements, dating back to
1956, showed that the loss of ozone was much greater than previously hypothesized. From 1977
to 1984, they had measured a forty percent decrease in ozone levels (Somerville 88). They
believed that CFCs were the reason for this hole in the ozone layer.
This discovery led to the action of scientists from all over the world. They confirmed
these findings, and determined that the hole in the ozone had an area of fifteen million square
miles. To further research this problem, satellites were launched to collect data. The most useful
device for collecting this data is the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS). TOMS sent
back computer-generated pictures of ozone concentrations. These images vividly show the
formation and disappearance of the ozone hole each austral spring.

Concentrations
Images from NASA satellites show that the ozone layer has declined in both
concentration and area since the year 1979. The hole in the ozone over Antarctica has continued
to arise every austral spring from September to November. During this time, ozone
concentrations in the area are very low and are under 100 Dobson Units, which are indicated by a

blue color. These concentrations continue to decrease each year, and can alternate depending on
wind patterns.

Trends
In September of 1991 and 1992, levels of chlorine monoxide and ozone were measured in
the Southern Hemispheres stratosphere by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). Chlorine
monoxide is a product of the decomposition of CFCs. The results show a strong correlation
between chlorine monoxide and ozone levels in the Southern Hemisphere. The data showed that
the farther south one goes, the lower the concentration of ozone and the higher the concentration
of chlorine monoxide. It also reveals that the area where there is the highest concentration of
chlorine monoxide has the lowest concentration of ozone. These results conclude that the
presence of chlorine monoxide is related with ozone depletion. The ozone hole has grown so
much that it is now the size of North America.

Monitoring from Space

Using NASAs Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS), the rate of depletion of the
ozone layer can be monitored periodically. This data accurately measures concentrations of
ozone around the entire Earth. These concentrations are represented by a color bar with
corresponding numbers that represent the Dobson Units. Dobson Units are a measurement of the
total column of ozone. The color red on the color scale represents high levels of ozone. The color
violet on the color scale represents low levels of ozone. In the image from September of the
years 1979 and 1991, the violet color indicates a large area of low concentrations of ozone. In the

image from November of the years 1979 and 1991, the violet area is much smaller; meaning the
low level of ozone is much smaller as well.

Health Effects of the Ozone Hole

When intact, the ozone layer prevents damaging ultraviolet rays from reaching the
Earths surface. However, when the ozone is depleted, there is an increase in the levels
ultraviolet radiation that reaches the ground. In the late 1980s, a team of scientist worked at
McMurdo Research station in Antarctica to further research this topic. They found that UV
radiation increases by as much as fifty percent when the hole in the ozone appears in the austral
spring when compared with normal ozone concentrations in the austral winter (Sandak 21).
A study on the effects of the ozone hole on UV radiations was published by G.
Seckmeyer and R.L. McKenzie in 1992. In this study, the researchers measured levels of UV
radiation in New Zealand and Germany on the same days from 1990 to 1991. The study revealed
that UV levels in New Zealand were twice as high as those in Germany (Newton 32). This was
attributed to the reduce levels of ozone over the Southern Hemisphere.
Ultraviolet radiation has both positive and negative impacts on living organisms on the
Earth. On the positive side, UV radiation is necessary for the production of Vitamin D, essential
for strong teeth and bones (Nardo 11). However, UV radiation has far more negative impacts on
life at level. Since 1985, studies on phytoplankton in seas surrounding the Antarctic show that
populations have decreased by as much as twelve percent (Nardo 12). This drastic decrease has
implications for all marine life in the Southern Hemisphere, because phytoplankton is at the base
of the aquatic food web. Microscopic plants and animals that make nutrients in the soil could
also die from overexposure to UV rays. In 1989, the United Nations Environment Programme

(UNEP) data revealed that two-thirds of three hundred crops tested were sensitive to increasing
UV radiation. These crops included beans, melons, cabbages, potatoes, peas, and tomatoes.
As for humans and other animals, the effects of UV radiation tend to fall into three major
groups. These categories are skin cancer, cataracts and other eye damage, and damage to the
immune system. In 1989, the UNEP study predicted that skin cancer cases would increase by
300,000 by the year 2000 as a result of ozone depletion (Nardo 34). These cases, the UNEP
stated, would be most prevalent in Argentina and Australia because they are near the Antarctic
hole. This study also predicted that a ten percent loss of the global ozone layer would increase
basal and squamous-cell cancers by twenty-six percent. While these are simple forms of cancer,
skin cancer, or melanoma, is much more deadly. It was projected that this same loss of ten
percent of the global ozone would cause a nine percent increase in melanoma cases.
Another result of higher levels of UV radiation levels is an increase in cataracts and other
eye disorders. Southern Chile had early reports that stated widespread blindness had begun in
cattle, sheep, horses, and rabbits. These incidents were a result of the ozone depletion over the
Antarctic. The UNEP study revealed that similar effects could result in 1.6 million new cases of
blindness throughout the world each year (Somerville 43).
In 1993, a study on the effects of UV radiation on the immune system was conducted at
the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. This study used mice, rats, and guinea
pigs that were exposed to UV radiation. It revealed that the animals failed to produce immune
responses when exposed to a variety of allergens. These animals were also resistant to infections
and had an insufficient immune response to injected microorganisms (Newton 75). This study,
along with a small sample group of human volunteers, confirmed these hypotheses.

Conventions & Regulations on Ozone Depletion

The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone layer was the first major
international agreement about the protection of the ozone layer. It was signed in Vienna in March
of 1985 (Mascarelli 2010). There were forty-three nations represented at the Vienna Convention.
Of these forty-three, twenty signed at the close of the convention on March 22nd. By July 31,
1993, one hundred and five additional nations ratified the convention.
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Later was an agreement
signed in Montreal on September 16, 1987. On this date, it was signed by twenty-five nations
and was eventually ratified by one hundred and twenty-two nations (Velders 2007). The
participants agreed to freeze the emission of halons, which are CFC-like compounded, at 1986
levels by 1992. They also agreed to cut CFC emissions in half by 1998, and reduce CFC
production by fifty percent by 1999 (Sandak 87). The original document has changes many times
as a result of regular meetings held by the participants. Over time, the alternations have reflected
increased scientific information about the ozone layer and changes in the production and use of
CFCs and other ozone-depleting chemicals. The amount of ozone-depleting chemicals in the
troposphere has decreased since 1994 as a result of international compliance with environmental
legislation (Mascarelli 2010).

Conclusion
Since the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole, many steps have been taken in order to
combat the problem. Many chemicals that were harmful to the ozone have been banned by many
nations across the world. However, many developing countries still allow the use of such
chemicals. They argue that already developed countries would be at an unfair advantage. Even

though this is the case, the global output of CFCs and other ozone-depleting chemicals into the
atmosphere have steadily declined. In order to further repair the ozone hole, leaders of the world
must take action against the use of these harmful chemicals. Human health, and the health of all
species, relies heavily on the strength of the stratospheric ozone layer. It is predicted that with
proper regulations, the ozone hole could repair itself by 2050.

Works Cited
Mascarelli, Amanda L. "A Bright Future for the Montreal Protocol." Environmental Science and
Technology 44 (2010): 1518-520. Web. 21 June 2014.
Nardo, Don. Ozone. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2006. Print.
Newton, David E. The Ozone Dilemma: A Reference Handbook. Santa Barbara, CA: ABCCLIO, 1995. Print.
Sandak, Cass R. A Reference Guide to Clean Air. Hillside, NJ, U.S.A.: Enslow, 1990. Print.
Somerville, Richard. The Forgiving Air: Understanding Environmental Change. Berkeley: U of
California, 1996. Print.
Stolarski, Richard, Rumen Bojkov, and Lane Bishop. "Measured Trends in Stratospheric
Ozone." Science 256 (1992): 342-46. Web. 20 June 2014.
Velders, Guus J.M., and Stephen O. Anderson. "The Importance of the Montreal Protocol in
Protecting Climate." PNAS 104.12 (2007): 4814-819. Web. 20 June 2014.