Antarctic ozone hole

E729843

The Antarctic ozone hole is a region of severely depleted ozone in the stratosphere above Antarctica that forms each spring due to chemical reactions involving human-made pollutants like chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf atmospheric phenomenon
ozone depletion region
affects southern high-latitude ecosystems
ultraviolet radiation levels over Antarctica
causedBy CFCs NERFINISHED
chlorofluorocarbons
halons
human-made pollutants
other ozone-depleting substances
dependsOn Antarctic polar vortex
very low stratospheric temperatures
discoveredIn 1980s
expectedRecovery mid-21st century or later
firstMajorPublicationYear 1985
firstReportedBy British Antarctic Survey NERFINISHED
hasArea up to about 25 million square kilometers
hasCause catalytic destruction of ozone by bromine radicals
catalytic destruction of ozone by chlorine radicals
hasConsequence increased risk of eye damage from UV exposure
increased risk of skin cancer from UV exposure
hasMechanism activation of chlorine from reservoir species
formation of polar stratospheric clouds
heterogeneous chemistry on polar stratospheric cloud particles
springtime sunlight-driven photochemistry
hasPart severely depleted ozone layer
hasPeakExtentMonth October
September
hasProperty enhanced ultraviolet radiation at surface
recurring annually
seasonal
severe ozone depletion
locatedAbove Antarctic continent NERFINISHED
locatedIn stratosphere
location Antarctica NERFINISHED
measuredInUnits Dobson Units
mitigatedBy Montreal Protocol NERFINISHED
phase-out of CFCs
observedBy balloon-borne instruments
ground-based Dobson spectrophotometers
satellite instruments
occursInMonth October
September
early November
occursInSeason austral spring
relatedTo Arctic ozone depletion
global ozone depletion
trend signs of gradual recovery in early 21st century
typicalMinimumOzoneColumn less than 100 Dobson Units
typicalUndisturbedOzoneColumn about 300 Dobson Units

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

OMPS monitors Antarctic ozone hole