{"id":162164,"date":"2020-04-28T21:16:02","date_gmt":"2020-04-28T20:16:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsforher.com\/?p=162164"},"modified":"2020-04-28T21:16:07","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T20:16:07","slug":"why-the-arctics-ozone-hole-just-closed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/?p=162164","title":{"rendered":"Why the Arctic&#039;s ozone hole just closed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"c5b541d88d911dcbb84397def1a3492d\" data-index=\"1\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- m -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3943282228430444\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"5751019935\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p> [ad_1]\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"id_text\">\n<div class=\"shift-to-hero\">\n<div class=\"jw-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"vplayer\"><iframe allowautoplay=\"\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-src=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/videos\/embed?video=yrlEzYeEoL&amp;player=default\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>You&#8217;re probably familiar with the infamous ozone hole over Antarctica, caused by <a href=\"https:\/\/me.mashable.com\/science\/5093\/clever-scientists-locate-the-source-of-outlawed-ozone-killing-pollution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">damaging and now-illegal chemicals<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But during March and April this year there was a notable zone of depleted ozone \u2014 which protects life from the sun&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/science.nasa.gov\/ems\/10_ultravioletwaves\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ultraviolet radiation<\/a> \u2014 over the Arctic, too. It <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CopernicusECMWF\/status\/1253273035248975873\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">closed last week<\/a>, though it wasn&#8217;t nearly as robust as the annual Antarctic ozone hole, and it certainly wasn&#8217;t a big health threat to humanity. (Though it\u2019s always wise to diligently use <a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/uv\/sun_protection\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sun protection<\/a>, regardless of the ozone layer&#8217;s condition.)<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s unusual but not unexpected,&#8221; Paul Newman, the chief scientist in the Earth Sciences Division at NASA&#8217;s Goddard Space Flight Center, said of the recent Arctic ozone hole.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;It\u2019s unusual in that we only have events like this about once per decade,&#8221; Newman added.<\/p>\n<p>There are two other years on record, 1997 and 2011, when there were similar ozone depletions over the Arctic, explained Antje Innes, a senior scientist at the European Union&#8217;s Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service. But recent measurements suggest the ozone levels were even lower this year, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Importantly, these recent ozone numbers aren&#8217;t nearly as low as they are in <a data-mashable-story-id=\"5ea7f807ca2f0c1fe8000021\" href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/2018\/01\/05\/nasa-finds-direct-evidence-the-ozone-layer-is-recovering\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Antarctica&#8217;s slowly healing, big ozone hole<\/a>, which opens up in August through October each year.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;These two are really different animals,&#8221; said NASA&#8217;s Newman. &#8220;This [Arctic ozone hole] is not comparable to the Antarctic ozone hole.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;If this was happening over the Antarctic we would be shouting for joy,&#8221; he added, referencing the still significantly lower ozone numbers over Antarctica caused by decades of releasing ozone-depleting gases, like chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, into the atmosphere. (Fortunately, scientists discovered the Antarctic ozone hole in 1985, and CFCs were soon banned.)<\/p>\n<p>For reference, on Oct. 12, 2018, ozone levels plummeted to 104 Dobson units (the measurement of ozone in the atmosphere) over Antarctica versus <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/feature\/goddard\/2020\/nasa-reports-arctic-stratospheric-ozone-depletion-hit-record-low-in-march\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">205 Dobson units over the Arctic<\/a> on Mar. 12, 2020. (Typically, ozone levels don&#8217;t drop below 240 Dobson units in the Arctic during March.)<\/p>\n<div class=\"twitter-wrapper sort-rerender\">\n<div>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The unprecedented 2020 northern hemisphere <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OzoneHole?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#OzoneHole<\/a> has come to an end. The <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/PolarVortex?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#PolarVortex<\/a> split, allowing <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/ozone?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#ozone<\/a>-rich air into the Arctic, closely matching last week&#8217;s forecast from the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/CopernicusAtmosphere?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#CopernicusAtmosphere<\/a> Monitoring Service.<\/p>\n<p>More on the NH Ozone hole\u27a1\ufe0f<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Nf6AfjaYRi\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/Nf6AfjaYRi<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qVPu70ycn4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/qVPu70ycn4<\/a><\/p>\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"c5b541d88d911dcbb84397def1a3492d\" data-index=\"2\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- 2 -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3943282228430444\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"5511153269\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<p>\u2014 Copernicus ECMWF (@CopernicusECMWF) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/CopernicusECMWF\/status\/1253273035248975873?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">April 23, 2020<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\"><\/script>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2><strong>Why did the Arctic ozone hole form this year?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>A major reason for the 2020 Arctic ozone hole is the polar vortex \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.noaa.gov\/multimedia\/infographic\/science-behind-polar-vortex-you-might-want-to-put-on-sweater\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a whirling jet of air<\/a> that forms over the Arctic (and the Antarctic) during winter \u2014 was &#8220;incredibly strong and persistent&#8221; this year, said Innes.<\/p>\n<p>So frigid Arctic air stayed mostly locked in the Arctic, rather than wobbling around and <a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/article\/polar-vortex-returns-coldest-temperatures-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spilling notoriously cold air<\/a> into places like the U.S. This stable, profoundly cold air (<a href=\"https:\/\/atmosphere.copernicus.eu\/copernicus-tracking-record-breaking-arctic-ozone-hole\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">below -78 degrees Celsius<\/a>, or -108 degrees Fahrenheit) allowed lofty clouds to form high up in the atmosphere where ozone lives, in a place called the stratosphere. These clouds create an ideal environment for the human-made chemical CFCs to react with sunlight, which then makes chlorine, the chemical that ultimately destroys ozone.<\/p>\n<p>(In contrast, these high stratospheric clouds frequently form over Antarctica, which allow CFCs to regularly deplete the ozone there, notably in September and October.)<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;s more, this robust polar vortex prevented ozone-rich air from other regions from washing into the Arctic, which kept ozone levels depleted. &#8220;There was little mixing this year,&#8221; explained Newman. He likened the atmospheric situation to dropping a dollop of red paint into a bucket of white paint. The red paint, signifying the air in the polar vortex, will stay put unless it&#8217;s mixed up. &#8220;It will just sit there unless the atmosphere is stirring,&#8221; he said.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"image\">\n<p><picture itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><source   type=\"image\/webp\"><\/source><source   type=\"image\/jpeg\"><\/source><img alt=\"Ozone levels over the Arctic on April 24, 2020.\" class=\"\" data-fragment=\"m!aa91\" data-image=\"https:\/\/mondrian.mashable.com\/uploads%252Fcard%252Fimage%252F1282936%252F4e8c8d00-b640-471d-8811-401c10ae8843.png%252Ffull-fit-in__1200x2000.png?signature=017C7jeDKmJlZsfCQBOF8k3ugHw=&amp;source=https%3A%2F%2Fblueprint-api-production.s3.amazonaws.com\" data-micro=\"1\"   src_type=\"jpeg\"><\/picture><figcaption class=\"image-caption\">\n<p>Ozone levels over the Arctic on April 24, 2020.\n<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><div class=\"image-credit\">\n<p>Image:  nasa\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But, last week the <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/judah47\/status\/1253319469516107776\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">polar vortex split apart<\/a>, explained Innes. This allowed ozone-rich air from the mid-latitudes to flow into the Arctic, mostly putting an end to the region&#8217;s depleted ozone levels. The Arctic ozone hole is essentially no more.<\/p>\n<p>Importantly, thanks to a strong international climate treaty (the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unenvironment.org\/ozonaction\/who-we-are\/about-montreal-protocol\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Montreal Protocol<\/a>) that banned ozone-damaging CFCs in the late 1980s, this recent Arctic ozone hole wasn&#8217;t nearly as bad as it could have been.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Without the Montreal Protocol, it would have been much, much worse,&#8221; said Newman, noting the atmosphere would have inevitably been saturated with more ozone-killing chemicals.<\/p>\n<p>As this northern ozone hole vanishes, one big question still remains: Why was the polar vortex so robust this year?<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Why the polar vortex was so strong and lasted so long this year we don&#8217;t know yet,&#8221; said Innes. &#8220;Scientists will surely research what triggered this.&#8221;\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"c5b541d88d911dcbb84397def1a3492d\" data-index=\"5\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- 5 -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3943282228430444\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"9258826580\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n[ad_2]\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/me.mashable.com\/science\/10090\/why-the-arctics-ozone-hole-just-closed\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n\n<!-- Quick Adsense WordPress Plugin: http:\/\/quickadsense.com\/ -->\n<div class=\"c5b541d88d911dcbb84397def1a3492d\" data-index=\"3\" style=\"float: none; margin:0px 0 0px 0; text-align:center;\">\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- 3 -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-3943282228430444\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"2884989920\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n\n<div style=\"font-size: 0px; height: 0px; line-height: 0px; margin: 0; padding: 0; clear: both;\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] You&#8217;re probably familiar with the infamous ozone hole over Antarctica, caused by damaging and now-illegal chemicals. But during March and April this year there was a notable zone of depleted ozone \u2014 which protects life from the sun&#8217;s ultraviolet radiation \u2014 over the Arctic, too. It closed last week, though it wasn&#8217;t nearly as &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":162165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[9],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162164"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=162164"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162164\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":162166,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162164\/revisions\/162166"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/162165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=162164"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=162164"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsforher.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=162164"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}