The ozone hole over Antarctica has shrunk by 16% since its peak in 2000, and some suspect it may disappear entirely by midcentury.
ozone
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Chemical Boosts Ozone Production over Southern China
The presence of nitryl chloride in polluted urban air can enhance the production of ozone by up to 41%, according to a new modeling study constrained by ground-based measurements.
Posted inEditors' Vox
Connecting Thunderstorms and Climate Through Ozone
New data links thunderstorms to climate via their impacts on aerosols, ozone, and water vapor in the stratosphere.
Posted inNews
Human-Made Fires Pollute Air with Ozone Half a World Away
Fires in Africa and Southeast Asia contributed to western Pacific pollution, a study finds. Prior understanding attributed hefty levels of the harmful agent and greenhouse gas to natural processes.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
To Help Fix the Hole in the Ozone Layer, Just Add Ice
Computer simulations show that adding tiny droplets of ice to the atmosphere during the spring could help eliminate chlorofluorocarbons and repair the hole in the ozone layer.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Ozone Hole to Remain Large During Cold Years
Despite the Montreal Protocol's success, it will take years of observations to be sure that regulations are allowing the ozone hole to recover.
Posted inOpinions
Is the Shale Boom Reversing Progress in Curbing Ozone Pollution?
Concentrations of volatile organic compounds—precursors to ground-level ozone formation—are on the rise in areas over and downwind of a major shale oil and gas field in Texas.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
Changing Patterns in U.S. Air Quality
Over the northeast United States, ground-level ozone will peak in the winter rather than the summer thanks to continued reductions of regional nitrogen oxide emissions from smokestacks and tailpipes.
Posted inResearch Spotlights
What Causes Nitric Oxide to Infiltrate the Ozone Layer?
Processes in the polar atmosphere can cause nitric oxide (NO)-enriched air to descend and destroy stratospheric ozone. Scientists explore one cause of these NO fluxes, stratospheric sudden warming.