Is the stratospheric ozone hole recovering?
Chemical reactions in the stratosphere contribute to a thinning of the ozone layer on a yearly cycle. Without the ozone layer, high-energy ultraviolet C radiation from the sun would be able to penetrate the Earth’s atmosphere and reach the ground where it would devastate all life on Earth. Transportation of chemical species called chloro-fluoro-carbons (a man-made product) from the troposphere to the stratosphere has been a major contributor to the depletion of the ozone layer. Aura scientists use data to understand the processes involved in the cyclic nature of the ozone layer depletion. How is Earth’s climate changing? Without the atmosphere, wind wouldn’t exist to spread seeds across the ocean, making it possible to carry new species to a different continent. Without the atmosphere, clouds would not exist giving our planet the characteristic appearance it has been so lovingly labeled the “blue marble”.
