What type of radiation is absorbed by the ozone layer

Together, ozone and oxygen molecules are able to absorb 95 to When UV light is absorbed by oxygen and ozone, heat is generated, which is why the stratosphere gets warmer with altitude.

The ozone layer in the stratosphere shields life on Earth from most UV-B and UV-C, the most harmful varieties of ultraviolet radiation. Credit: NASA. Ozone and oxygen molecules are constantly being formed, destroyed, and reformed in the ozone layer as they are bombarded by ultraviolet radiation UV , which breaks the bonds between atoms, creating free oxygen atoms.

Free oxygen atoms are highly reactive, meaning that they bond easily with other molecules. If a free oxygen atom bumps into an oxygen molecule O 2 , it will form ozone O 3. If a free oxygen atom bumps into another oxygen atom, it will form an oxygen molecule O 2.

British scientists at Halley Bay, Antarctica, thought their instruments were malfunctioning when they started recording low ozone amounts in the ozone layer above Antarctica in They had been measuring ozone in the Antarctic atmosphere since and had never before seen the levels drop so much. Why would ozone levels have dropped? Could it just be natural variation? Since ozone concentrations over this region often vary from season to season, the researchers weren't concerned, but record low ozone levels kept occurring nearly every spring.

No one knew why. They were the first to find an ozone hole and it would later be identified as the world's largest ozone hole. An ozone hole is really not a hole but rather a thinning of the ozone layer in the stratosphere that changes seasonally. It is here that ozone plays its essential role in shielding the surface from harmful ultraviolet radiation.

By screening out genetically destructive ultraviolet radiation from the Sun, ozone protects life on the surface of Earth. It is for this reason that ozone acquires an enormous importance. It is why we study it so extensively. Ten percent of the ozone is contained in the troposphere, the lowest part of our atmosphere where all of our weather takes place see Chapter 2. Measurements taken from instruments on the ground, flown on balloons, and operating in space show that ozone concentrations are greatest between about 15 and 30 km.

The yellow curve in Figure 1. This sort of plot is called a vertical profile. See Chapter 3 for a more complete description of the vertical distribution of ozone.

The ozone concentrations shown in Figure 1. But these ozone molecules are vitally important to life because they absorb the biologically harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. There are three different types of ultraviolet UV radiation, based on the wavelength of the radiation, as explained below in section 2. Figure 1. We see that UV-c red is entirely screened out by ozone around 35 km altitude. On the other hand, we see that most UV-a blue reaches the surface, but it is not as genetically damaging, so we don't worry about it too much.

It is the UV-b green radiation that can cause sunburn and that can also cause genetic damage, resulting in things like skin cancer, if exposure to it is prolonged. Ozone screens out most UV-b, but some reaches the surface. Were the ozone layer to decrease, more UV-b radiation would reach the surface, causing increased genetic damage to living things. Because most of the ozone in our atmosphere is contained in the stratosphere, we refer to this region as the stratospheric ozone layer.

In contrast to beneficial stratospheric ozone, tropospheric ozone is a pollutant found in high concentrations in smog. Though it too absorbs UV radiation, breathing it in high levels is unhealthy, even toxic. The high reactivity of ozone results in damage to the living tissue of plants and animals.

This damage by heavy tropospheric ozone pollution is often manifested as eye and lung irritation. Tropospheric ozone is mainly produced during the daytime in polluted regions such as urban areas.

Significant government efforts are underway to regulate the gases and emissions that lead to this harmful pollution, and smog alerts are regular occurrences in polluted urban areas. To appreciate the importance of stratospheric ozone, we need to understand something of the Sun's output and how it impacts living systems.

The Sun produces radiation at many different wavelengths. These are part of what is known as the electromagnetic EM spectrum. Powered by. The stratosphere is the mass of protective gases cling ing to our planet. The stratosphere gets its name because it is stratified, or layered: as elevation increases, the stratosphere gets warmer. The stratosphere increases in warmth with elevation because ozone gas es in the upper layers absorb intense ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Ozone is only a trace gas in the atmosphere—only about 3 molecule s for every 10 million molecules of air. But it does a very important job. Like a sponge , the ozone layer absorbs bits of radiation hitting Earth from the sun. Even though we need some of the sun's radiation to live, too much of it can damage living things.

The ozone layer acts as a shield for life on Earth. UVB is the cause of skin conditions like sunburns, and cancer s like basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. However, scientists now know that UVA light is even more harmful than UVB, penetrating more deeply and causing a deadly skin cancer, melanoma , and premature aging. The ozone layer is getting thinner. Chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons CFCs are a reason we have a thinning ozone layer.

A chlorofluorocarbon CFC is a molecule that contains the element s carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. CFCs are everywhere, mostly in refrigerant s and plastic products. Businesses and consumer s use them because they're inexpensive, they don't catch fire easily, and they don't usually poison living things.

But the CFCs start eating away at the ozone layer once they get blown into the stratosphere. Ozone molecules, which are simply made of three joined oxygen atoms, are always being destroyed and reformed naturally. The ozone layer, which only makes up 0. This is inaccurate. Ozone layer damage is more like a really thin patch than a hole. The ozone layer is thinnest near the pole s. In the s, people all over the world started realizing that the ozone layer was getting thinner and that this was a bad thing.

Many government s and businesses agreed that some chemicals, like aerosol can s, should be outlaw ed.