Can the ozone layers damage be repaired?
IN 1985, three scientists, Joseph Farman, Brian Gardiner and Jonathan Shanklin of the British Antarctic Survey discovered the ozone hole, an area of the ozone layer above the Antarctic that was thinner than the rest of the layer. In the past 20 years, this hole has increased in size. The ozone layer is found in the stratosphere layer of the atmosphere. It serves as Earth’s protection from harmful ultraviolet sun rays, which can cause diseases like skin cancer to humans, and a change in composition to plants and animals under prolonged exposure. This protective shield has long to developed “holes” primarily due to chlorine and bromine, which are halogens. Halogens are elements that react with multiple molecules of the ozone. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), in particular, are chemical compounds that contain chlorine. When this compound reaches the atmosphere, it undergoes a photochemical reaction that breaks down the ozone. An atom of chlorine can destroy over 100,000 ozone molecules. Environ