Long before news hit the fan about a hole in the ozone layer above the Arctic, scientists were studying the problem of warm air in the far north.
“Twenty-five years ago, a project began to determine the source of Arctic haze, which is a thick, brown layer of fog that can be seen at high altitudes in the region, most visibly in the springtime,” writes T.M. Kostigen, author of ‘You Are Here.’
I’m sure if I saw the haze, it would remind me of the thick, yellowish-brown fog that blows across Lake Erie and the corn and soy fields SW of London, Ontario when coal-burning energy and industrial plants are in operation on the south side of the lake.
Kostigen continues, “At first, it was thought to come from local air pollution or dust from the Gobi Desert. After ten years, the data collected from the project showed Arctic haze contains high concentrations of human-made gases and aerosols. This pollution flows up to six thousand miles eastward into the Arctic basin, where it stagnates just north of the polar front.”
Unfortunately, the haze traps sunlight, which leads to warmer air and ocean temperatures. As well, the “human-made gases and aerosols” affects the ozone layer high above the polar region.
Recently, Professor Jonathan Shanklin of The British Antarctic Study said the loss itself of ozone and the greenhouse effect is causing the upper atmosphere to become colder, which is a condition that facilitates ozone destruction.
"The atmosphere is changing, and one of the key changes is that the ozone layer is getting colder. And when it gets colder, particularly during the winter, we can get clouds actually forming in the ozone layer, and these clouds are the key factor. Chemistry can take place on them that activates the chlorine and makes it very much easier for it to destroy the ozone. It's getting colder because of the greenhouse gases that are being liberated by all the emissions we have at the surface.” (link to full article)
Why worry about the hole in the ozone?
At another site under the Arctic Ozone umbrella I read something that addresses ‘why worry’ and ‘for how long.’
Record stratospheric ozone loss in the arctic in spring of 2011
Geneva, 5 April 2011 — Depletion of the ozone layer- the shield that protects life on Earth from harmful levels of ultraviolet rays - has reached an unprecedented level over the Arctic this spring because of the continuing presence of ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere and a very cold winter in the stratosphere. The stratosphere is the second major layer of the Earth’s atmosphere, just above the troposphere.
The record loss is despite an international agreement which has been very successful in cutting production and consumption of ozone destroying chemicals. Because of the long atmospheric lifetimes of these compounds it will take several decades before their concentrations are back down to pre-1980 levels, the target agreed in the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
...Without the Montreal Protocol, this year’s ozone destruction would most likely have been worse. The slow recovery of the ozone layer is due to the fact that ozone-depleting substances stay in the atmosphere for several decades. In the polar regions the drop in ozone depleting gases is 10% of what is required to return to the 1980 benchmark level. (link to full article)
Twenty-five years ago the Arctic haze acted as a warning concerning individual, corporate and government behaviour.
Today, harmful holes in the ozone - with our fingerprints attached - act as a greater warning.
It will be interesting to see if another protocol is enacted and subsequently ignored, if another treaty is signed and hidden at the bottom of a desk drawer.
I predict that, based on past human history, only the most severe environmental and economic crisis will nudge the majority away from its many distractions and in the right direction, toward a small, more sustainable lifestyle.
I wonder if the next crisis is just around the corner?
***
Please click here to read Climate Change Concerns: PT 3 “What’s that big hole over our heads?”
.
No comments:
Post a Comment