Jakarta –
Hole inside ozone layer Antarctica reached its annual peak on October 5, covering an area of 26.4 million square kilometers. Although this is the third consecutive year that the ozone hole has expanded to this size, the general trend suggests that the hole is still shrinking.
If you imagine how large the 26.4 million kilometer ozone hole is, this equates to a continent. The closest comparison could be the continent of North America which has an area of approximately 24.71 million sq km.
“All the data says that the ozone is getting better. The ozone hole enlargement occurs in August and October. The ozone hole enlargement is slightly worse this year due to the slightly cooler climate of this year. ‘year, ”said Paul Newman, chief Earth scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. , quoted by IFL science.
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The depletion of ozone in the Arctic, caused by high levels of chlorine compounds in the stratosphere, is largely related to the historical use of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
Of note, CFC compounds or better known as freon are a haloalkane compound that is used as a coolant or coolant.
CFCs are often used as blowing agents in the foam manufacturing process, such as solvents, active ingredients for fire extinguishing, active ingredients for fumigation in warehouses, prior to shipment, and agricultural and forestry products. CFCs are also used as “pushing” materials for sprays (aerosols).
During the Antarctic winter, temperatures become low enough to allow the formation of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) at high altitudes. These PSCs then provide a surface for chemical reactions that convert CFCs into more active forms such as chlorine gas.
When sunlight returns in the early polar spring, ultraviolet radiation breaks down these chlorine gas molecules and releases chlorine atoms, which then interact and destroy the ozone molecules. For this reason, hole in the ozone layer Antarctica always grows during the spring, but eventually stabilizes when temperatures get too high.
The colder the spring, the greater the potential for damage, which explains why there has been such a large ozone hole in recent years.
This year, for example, stratospheric temperatures hit a low of -94 degrees Celsius on August 11, but rose to -82 degrees Celsius on October 11. Critically, this additional figure is still below the minimum temperature, the temperature required for PSC formation.
Measurements of NASA’s own ozone hole show that it had shrunk to 22.67 million square kilometers by October 11. The minimum ozone thickness over the Arctic was recorded at 97 Dobsonian units on October 1, but rose to 105 Dobsonian units ten days later.
For reference, the Earth is covered with an ozone layer with a standard thickness of 220 Dobson units. Values below this number were not observed in Antarctica before 1979 and have always been associated with ozone depletion associated with CFC compounds.
Fortunately, the ozone layer has improved over the decades, thanks in large part to the 1987 Montreal Protocol which banned the use of CFCs. As the annual rate fluctuates, the size of the hole has steadily decreased since it reached an all-time high of 29.9 million square kilometers in September 2000.
In addition to low temperatures, enlargement hole in the ozone layer which is relatively large this year is also suspected of being due to the illegal use of CFCs by factories in China.
Additionally, Brian Toon of the University of Colorado said the major bushfires in Australia and the recent undersea volcanic eruption in Tonga could also impact the ozone layer.
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