ScienceDaily: Ozone Depletion News

Tropical upper atmosphere 'fingerprint' of global warming

Wed, 22 May 2013 13:11:11 EDT

The winds of the quasibiennial oscillation in the tropical upper atmosphere have greatly weakened at some altitudes over the last six decades, according to a new study. The finding is consistent with computer model projections of how the upper atmosphere responds to global warming induced by increased greenhouse gas concentrations.

Scientists investigate release of bromine in polar regions

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 11:48:48 EDT

Researchers have employed a novel measurement device for new studies in Alaska.

Ancient Earth crust stored in deep mantle

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 13:27:27 EDT

Scientists have long believed that lava erupted from certain oceanic volcanoes contains materials from the early Earth's crust. But decisive evidence for this phenomenon has proven elusive. New research now demonstrates that oceanic volcanic rocks contain samples of recycled crust dating back to the Archean era 2.5 billion years ago.

Sunlit snow triggers atmospheric cleaning, ozone depletion in the Arctic

Wed, 24 Apr 2013 11:23:23 EDT

Researchers have discovered that sunlit snow is the major source of atmospheric bromine in the Arctic, the key to unique chemical reactions that purge pollutants and destroy ozone.

Ozone masks plants volatiles, plant eating insects confused

Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:01:01 EDT

Increases in ground-level ozone, especially in rural areas, may interfere not only with predator insects finding host plants, but also with pollinators finding flowers, according to new research.

Causes of 2011 Arctic ozone hole determined

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 17:39:39 EDT

A combination of extreme cold temperatures, human-made chemicals and a stagnant atmosphere were behind what became known as the Arctic ozone hole of 2011, a new study finds.

Ground-level ozone falling faster than model predicted

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:39:39 EDT

While dangerous ozone levels have fallen with reductions in emissions from vehicles and industry, a new study suggests a model widely used to predict the impact of remediation efforts has been too conservative.

Ozone layer above North Pole expected to recover by end of century

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 09:13:13 EDT

Good news for the ozone layer above the Arctic. The Montreal Protocol is showing effects: according to recent measurements, the ozone layer over the North Pole should recover by the end of the century.

Clues to climate cycles dug from South Pole snow pit

Mon, 25 Feb 2013 15:31:31 EST

Particles from the upper atmosphere trapped in a deep pile of Antarctic snow hold clear chemical traces of global meteorological events, climate scientists from France have found. Anomalies in oxygen found in sulfate particles coincide with several episodes of the world-wide disruption of weather known as El Nino and can be distinguished from similar signals left by the eruption of huge volcanoes, the team reports.

Links between ozone levels and cardiac arrest analyzed

Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:42:42 EST

Researchers working with a massive data set unique to Houston, have found a direct correlation between out-of-hospital heart attacks and levels of air pollution and ozone.

One in 20 cases of pre-eclampsia may be linked to air pollutant

Wed, 06 Feb 2013 18:58:58 EST

One in every 20 cases of the serious condition of pregnancy, pre-eclampsia, may be linked to increased levels of the air pollutant ozone during the first three months, suggests a large study.

Ozone depletion trumps greenhouse gas increase in jet-stream shift

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:43:43 EST

Depletion of Antarctic ozone is a more important factor than increasing greenhouse gases in shifting the Southern Hemisphere jet stream in a southward direction, according to researchers.

Ozone thinning has changed ocean circulation

Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:41:41 EST

A hole in the Antarctic ozone layer has changed the way that waters in the southern oceans mix, a situation that has the potential to alter the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and eventually could have an impact on global climate change.

NASA ozone study may benefit air standards, climate

Tue, 22 Jan 2013 11:18:18 EST

A new NASA-led study finds that when it comes to combating global warming caused by emissions of ozone-forming chemicals, location matters.

Gas that triggers ozone destruction revealed

Sun, 13 Jan 2013 14:48:48 EST

Scientists have made a significant discovery about the cause of the destruction of ozone over oceans.

NASA chases climate change clues into the stratosphere

Wed, 09 Jan 2013 17:54:54 EST

Starting this month, NASA will send a remotely piloted research aircraft as high as 65,000 feet over the tropical Pacific Ocean to probe unexplored regions of the upper atmosphere for answers to how a warming climate is changing Earth.

Ozone levels have sizeable impact on worker productivity

Tue, 18 Dec 2012 15:32:32 EST

Researchers assessed the impact of pollution on agricultural worker productivity using daily variations in ozone levels. Their results show that ozone, even at levels below current air-quality standards in most parts of the world, has significant negative impacts on worker productivity. Their findings suggest that environmental protection is important for promoting economic growth and investing in human capital in contrast to its common portrayal as a tax on producers.

Unexpected microbes fighting harmful greenhouse gas

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 13:09:09 EST

The environment has a more formidable opponent than carbon dioxide. Another greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide, is 300 times more potent and also destroys the ozone layer each time it is released into the atmosphere through agricultural practices, sewage treatment and fossil fuel combustion.

Ozone's impact on soybean yield: Reducing future losses

Tue, 30 Oct 2012 16:15:15 EDT

Ozone is a pollutant that damages crops, particularly soybean. Researchers have investigated the responses of seven different soybean genotypes to eight ozone concentrations. The plants were exposed to ozone concentrations ranging from ambient levels of 38 parts per billion up to 200 parts per billion. They found that any increase above the ambient concentration was enough to reduce seed yield: roughly half a bushel per acre for each additional part per billion.

2012 Antarctic ozone hole second smallest in 20 years

Wed, 24 Oct 2012 16:47:47 EDT

The average area covered by the Antarctic ozone hole this year was the second smallest in the last 20 years. Scientists attribute the change to warmer temperatures in the Antarctic lower stratosphere.

Ozone affects forest watersheds

Thu, 18 Oct 2012 12:33:33 EDT

Scientists have found that rising levels of ozone, a greenhouse gas, may amplify the impacts of higher temperatures and reduce streamflow from forests to rivers, streams, and other water bodies. Such effects could potentially reduce water supplies available to support forest ecosystems and people in the southeastern United States.

New screening method identifies 1,200 candidate refrigerants to combat global warming

Wed, 19 Sep 2012 10:36:36 EDT

Researchers have developed a new computational method for identifying candidate refrigerant fluids with low "global warming potential" as well as other desirable performance and safety features.

Extreme weather linked to global warming, Nobel prize-winning scientist says

Mon, 20 Aug 2012 11:40:40 EDT

New scientific analysis strengthens the view that record-breaking summer heat, crop-withering drought and other extreme weather events in recent years do, indeed, result from human activity and global warming, Nobel Laureate Mario J. Molina has said.

50-year decline found in some Los Angeles vehicle-related pollutants

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 13:41:41 EDT

In California's Los Angeles Basin, levels of some vehicle-related air pollutants have decreased by about 98 percent since the 1960s, even as area residents now burn three times as much gasoline and diesel fuel. Between 2002 and 2010 alone, the concentration of air pollutants called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) dropped by half, according to a new study by NOAA scientists and colleagues.

Cloud seeds and ozone holes

Mon, 30 Jul 2012 09:41:41 EDT

New findings on the growth of ice clusters in polar stratospheric clouds could help clarify the process of ozone depletion in the atmosphere.

Climate change linked to ozone loss: May result in more skin cancer

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 14:22:22 EDT

Scientists are warning that a newly-discovered connection between climate change and depletion of the ozone layer over the US could allow more damaging ultraviolet (UV) radiation to reach Earth's surface, leading to increased incidence of skin cancer.

Extreme heat raises climate change questions, concerns

Thu, 05 Jul 2012 20:49:49 EDT

The recent heat wave baking much of the country has prompted many people to ask: Is this due to climate change?

Ozone exposure linked to potential heart attacks

Mon, 25 Jun 2012 16:29:29 EDT

Young, healthy adult volunteers exposed for two hours to ozone developed physiological changes associated with cardiovascular ailments, according to a small study.

Volcanic gases could deplete ozone layer

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:59:59 EDT

Giant volcanic eruptions in Nicaragua over the past 70,000 years could have injected enough gases into the atmosphere to temporarily thin the ozone layer, according to new research. And, if it happened today, a similar explosive eruption could do the same, releasing more than twice the amount of ozone-depleting halogen gases currently in stratosphere due to humanmade emissions.

Satellite sees smoke from Siberian fires reach the US coast

Tue, 12 Jun 2012 10:16:16 EDT

Fires burning in Siberia recently sent smoke across the Pacific Ocean and into the US and Canada. Images of data taken by the nation's newest Earth-observing satellite tracked aerosols from the fires taking six days to reach America's shores.

Humanmade pollutants may be driving Earth's tropical belt expansion: May impact large-scale atmospheric circulation

Wed, 16 May 2012 14:00:00 EDT

Black carbon aerosols and tropospheric ozone, both humanmade pollutants emitted predominantly in the Northern Hemisphere's low- to mid-latitudes, are most likely pushing the boundary of the tropics further poleward in that hemisphere, new research shows. While stratospheric ozone depletion has already been shown to be the primary driver of the expansion of the tropics in the Southern Hemisphere, the researchers are the first to report that black carbon and tropospheric ozone are the most likely primary drivers of the tropical expansion observed in the Northern Hemisphere.

DC3: Chemistry of thunderstorms

Wed, 09 May 2012 17:14:14 EDT

NASA researchers are about to fly off on a campaign that will take them into the heart of thunderstorm country. The Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry (DC3) field campaign will use an airport in Salina, Kan., as a base to explore the impact of large thunderstorms on the concentration of ozone and other substances in the upper troposphere.

Growing nitrous oxide levels explained

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:29:29 EDT

Scientists have generated a 65-year record of Southern Hemisphere nitrous oxide measurements, establishing a new benchmark against which to compare changes in the long-lived greenhouse gas that is also a major ozone-depleting substance.

Japan shares space station SMILES via atmospheric data distribution

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 16:38:38 EDT

Did you panic when you heard in recent news that two massive solar flares from the Sun were hitting Earth's atmosphere? The coronal mass ejections, or CMEs, typically produced by solar flares might pose a danger, if not for Earth's protective atmosphere and magnetosphere. Using International Space Station research and technology, scientists continue to learn more about the atmosphere, adding important new data to the collective understanding of this important defensive veil.

Sea ice drives arctic air pollutants, NASA finds

Thu, 01 Mar 2012 11:11:11 EST

Drastic reductions in Arctic sea ice in the last decade may be intensifying the chemical release of bromine into the atmosphere, resulting in ground-level ozone depletion and the deposit of toxic mercury in the Arctic, according to a new NASA-led study.

CFC substitutes: Good for the ozone layer, bad for climate?

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:07:07 EST

The Montreal Protocol led to a global phase-out of most substances that deplete the ozone layer, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). A happy side-effect of the gradual ban of these products is that the Earth’s climate has also benefited because CFCs are also potent greenhouse gases. However, now a "rebound effect" threatens to accelerate the rate of global warming.

Short-term exposure to most major air pollutants associated with increased risk of heart attack

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 17:10:10 EST

Short-term exposure (for up to 7 days) to all major air pollutants, with the exception of ozone, is significantly associated with an increased risk of heart attack, according to a new review article.

Coastal waters produce halogenated organic molecules that exacerbate stratospheric ozone depletion

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:31:31 EST

Coastal waters of the tropical Western Pacific produce natural halogenated organic molecules involving chlorine, bromine and iodine atoms that may damage the stratospheric ozone layer. This is the conclusion drawn from the initial findings of a field measurement campaign conducted in the South China Sea.

New study sheds light on evolutionary origin of oxygen-based cellular respiration

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:24:24 EST

Researchers in Japan have clarified the crystal structure of quinol dependent nitric oxide reductase (qNOR), a bacterial enzyme that offers clues on the origins of our earliest oxygen-breathing ancestors. In addition to their importance to fundamental science, the findings provide key insights into the production of nitrogen oxide, an ozone-depleting and greenhouse gas hundreds of times more potent than carbon dioxide.

Low temperatures enhance ozone degradation above the Arctic

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 13:37:37 EST

Extraordinarily cold temperatures in the winter of 2010/2011 caused the most massive destruction of the ozone layer above the Arctic so far: The mechanisms leading to the first ozone hole above the North Pole have now been investigated.

Historic Spanish analysis of atmospheric ozone highlights the importance of chlorofluorocarbon gases

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:16:16 EST

Researchers have rebuilt the ozone column trends recorded between 1978 and 2008 that rise up over the Iberian Peninsula. The results highlight the influence that the prohibition of aerosols and chlorofluorocarbon gases (CFC) has had.

Ozone from rock fracture could serve as earthquake early warning

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 15:46:46 EST

New research suggests that ozone gas emitted from fracturing rocks could serve as an indicator of impending earthquakes.

Greenhouse gas index continues to climb

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 14:30:30 EST

NOAA's updated Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI), which measures the direct climate influence of many greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, shows a continued steady upward trend that began with the Industrial Revolution of the 1880s.

Significant ozone hole remains over Antarctica

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:51:51 EDT

The Antarctic ozone hole, which yawns wide every Southern Hemisphere spring, reached its annual peak on Sept. 12, stretching 10.05 million square miles, the ninth largest on record. Above the South Pole, the ozone hole reached its deepest point of the season on Oct. 9 when total ozone readings dropped to 102 Dobson units, tied for the 10th lowest in the 26-year record.

Future forests may soak up more carbon dioxide than previously believed

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 15:39:39 EDT

North American forests appear to have a greater capacity to soak up heat-trapping carbon dioxide gas than researchers had previously anticipated.

Unprecedented Arctic ozone loss last winter

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 19:09:09 EDT

A NASA-led study has documented an unprecedented depletion of Earth's protective ozone layer above the Arctic last winter and spring caused by an unusually prolonged period of extremely low temperatures in the stratosphere.

Unprecedented Arctic ozone loss occurred last winter

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 09:44:44 EDT

A new study has documented an unprecedented depletion of the Earth's protective ozone layer above the Arctic last winter and spring that was caused by an unusually prolonged period of extremely low temperatures in the stratosphere.

Climate change set to increase ozone-related deaths over next 60 years, scientists warn

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 07:31:31 EDT

Scientists are warning that death rates linked to climate change will increase in several European countries over the next 60 years.

Plant 'body clock' observed in tropical rainforest; Research to aid ozone pollution predictions

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 08:19:19 EDT

Predictions of the ground-level pollutant ozone may be more accurate in the future, thanks to new research into plant circadian rhythms. Ozone is formed in the atmosphere when volatile organic compounds like isoprene -- which is emitted by some plants - react with nitrogen oxides from car engines or industry. Ozone at ground level is very harmful to human health, may decrease crop yields, and is a greenhouse gas. Researchers have now found that the rate at which plants emit isoprene is influenced by their body clock or circadian rhythm.

Future climate change may increase asthma attacks in children

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:13:13 EDT

Researchers have found that climate change may lead to more asthma-related health problems in children, and more emergency room visits in the next decade.

Mysteries of ozone depletion continue 25 years after the discovery of the Antarctic ozone hole

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:08:08 EDT

Even after many decades of studying ozone and its loss from our atmosphere, plenty of mysteries and surprises remain, including an unexpected loss of ozone over the Arctic this past winter, an authority on the topic has said. She also discussed chemistry and climate change, including some proposed ideas to "geoengineer" the Earth's climate to slow down or reverse global warming at a recent meeting.

Monitoring ground-level ozone from space

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 15:34:34 EDT

Satellite views of the Midwestern United States show that ozone levels above 50 parts per billion along the ground could reduce soybean yields by at least 10 percent, costing more than $1 billion in lost crop production, according to scientists.

Southern South American wildfires expected to increase

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 13:50:50 EDT

A new study indicates a major climate oscillation in the Southern Hemisphere that is expected to intensify in the coming decades will likely cause increased wildfire activity in the southern half of South America.

Breeding ozone-tolerant crops

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:17:17 EDT

Scientists have found that future levels of ground-level ozone could reduce soybean yields by an average 23 percent.

Soybean genetic treasure trove found in Swedish village

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:54:54 EDT

The first screening of the American ancestors of soybeans for tolerance to ozone and other stresses had an eye-opening result: The world superstars of stress resistance hailed from a little village in far northern Sweden, called Fiskeby.

NASA's Aura satellite measures pollution 'Butterfly' from fires in Central Africa

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:29:29 EDT

Fires raging in central Africa are generating a high amount of pollution that is showing up in data from NASA's Aura Satellite, with the ominous shape of a dark red butterfly in the skies over southern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and northern Angola.

NASA's Aura Satellite measures pollution from New Mexico, Arizona fires

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:40:40 EDT

NASA's Aura Satellite has provided a view of nitrogen dioxide levels coming from the fires in New Mexico and Arizona. Detecting nitrogen dioxide is important because it reacts with sunlight to create low-level ozone or smog and poor air quality.

Climate change increases the risk of ozone damage to plants, Swedish research finds

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:15:15 EDT

Ground-level ozone is an air pollutant that harms humans and plants. Both climate and weather play a major role in ozone damage to plants. Researchers in Sweden have now shown that climate change has the potential to significantly increase the risk of ozone damage to plants in northern and central Europe by the end of this century.

Research aircraft Polar 5 returned from spring measurements in the high Arctic

Mon, 16 May 2011 10:22:22 EDT

The research aircraft Polar 5 has just returned from a six-week expedition in the high Arctic. One of the key aspects of the expedition were large-scale sea ice thickness measurements in the inner Arctic.

The skinny on how shed skin reduces indoor air pollution

Mon, 09 May 2011 11:40:40 EDT

The flakes of skin that people shed at the rate of 500 million cells every day are not just a nuisance -- the source of dandruff, for instance, and a major contributor to house dust. A new study concludes that oil in those skin cells makes a small contribution to reducing indoor air pollution.