Scientist detects hole in the ozone layer over Latin America and the entire tropical zone

A study carried out by Qing-Bin Lu, a scientist at the University of Waterloo in Ontario (Canada), has identified a permanent hole in the ozone layer over the entire tropical zone of the planet covering part of Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania.

This research has taken the scientific community by surprise, since, according to its results, this ozone hole has existed since the 1980s.

It also has serious implications for life on these continents, since the ozone layer (between 15 and 40 km above the surface) is responsible for blocking most of the ultraviolet (UV) rays from the Sun, potentially harmful.

The ozone hole is the area of ​​the layer where an amount of ozone (O³) greater than 25% has been lost compared to the unchanged atmosphere. This phenomenon had only been observed at the poles.

“The tropics make up half of the planet’s surface and are home to about half of the world’s population,” Lu explains. The existence of the tropical ozone hole can cause great global concern, ”summarizes the author, who publishes his results in the AIP Advances journal of the American Institute of Physics.

According to Lu’s study, the hole he has detected is seven times larger than the one that appears every year in Antarctica. Also, it has a similar ‘depth’: an 80% loss of ozone in the center of the hole.

Preliminary reports show that ozone depletion levels over equatorial regions are already endangering large populations and that the associated UV radiation reaching these regions is much higher than expected, the paper reports.

“Ozone layer depletion can lead to increased ultraviolet radiation at ground level, which can increase the risk of skin cancer and cataracts in humans, as well as weaken the human immune system, decrease productivity agriculture and negatively affect aquatic organisms and sensitive ecosystems”, recalls Lu.

In the mid-1970s, atmospheric research suggested that the ozone layer, which absorbs most of the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation, might be depleted by industrial chemicals, primarily chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

The discovery in 1985 of the hole in the ozone layer in Antarctica confirmed the depletion of the substance caused by CFCs. Although the banning of these chemicals has helped to slow down the depletion of the ozone layer, evidence suggests that it persists.

Lu says that this new finding may be crucial to a better understanding of global climate change.

The study builds on earlier research on the CRE-initiated depletion mechanism, which he and his colleagues originally proposed about two decades ago.

“The present discovery calls for further detailed studies on ozone depletion, UV radiation shift, increased cancer risk, and other negative effects on health and ecosystems in tropical regions,” Lu suggests.

Lu’s observation of the hole in the ozone layer has puzzled atmospheric scientists, as it was not predicted by scientists. photochemical models conventional.

According to the AIP press release, the study data is consistent with the cosmic ray-driven reaction of electrons (CRE) model, and “strongly indicates the operation of an identical physical mechanism for Antarctic and tropical ozone holes.”

However, experts like Paul Young, lead author of the Scientific Assessment of Ozone Depletion, don’t think this is a hole, but rather an important variation in the levels of this gas.

For his part, Martyn Chipperfield, Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of Leeds, wrote: “The claim in this research of such large ozone changes in the tropics has not been evident in other studies, which makes me very suspicious.”

With information from the AIP and Europa Press.

Source-larepublica.pe