Where Does Ozone Depletion Occur?
Ozone depletion occurs when there is more ozone being destroyed (by CFCs and other ozone-depleting chemicals) than there is being created. Scientists believe that ozone levels were quite stable until the late 1970s. Ozone depletion over Antarctica has been occurring since 1979, and a general decrease in global ozone levels has been observed since the early 1980s. The Ozone Hole over the Antarctic Every winter and spring since the late 1970s an ozone hole has formed in the stratosphere above the Antarctic continent. In recent years this hole has become larger and deeper as more ozone has been destroyed. The depth of the hole is measured in Dobson Units (DU). The ozone depletion is described as a hole when levels of ozone fall below 200 DU.