What is the ozone hole and how it can threaten

Recently, the public is increasingly concernedenvironmental issues - protecting the environment, animals, reducing the amount of harmful and hazardous emissions. Surely everyone also heard about what the ozone hole is, and that there are a lot of them in the modern stratosphere of the Earth. And there is.

Modern anthropogenic activities and technical development endanger the existence of animals and plants on Earth, as well as the very lives of people.

What is the ozone hole?

The ozone layer is a blue protective envelope.a planet that is located in the stratosphere. Its height is approximately twenty-five kilometers from the earth's surface. And this layer is formed of oxygen, which under the influence of solar radiation undergoes chemical transformations. The local decrease in the concentration of ozone (in common people this is the well-known “hole”) is currently caused by many reasons. First of all, it is, of course, human activity (both industrial and everyday). There are, however, opinions that the ozone layer is being destroyed under the influence of exclusively natural phenomena that are not related to people.

Anthropogenic impact

Having understood what the ozone hole is,it is necessary to find out what kind of human activity contributes to its appearance. First of all it is aerosols. Every day we use deodorants, hair sprays, toilet waters with spray guns and often do not think that this has a detrimental effect on the protective layer of the planet.

The fact is that compounds that are presentin our usual cans (including bromine and chlorine), they readily react with oxygen atoms. Therefore, the ozone layer is destroyed, turning after such chemical reactions into completely useless (and often harmful) substances.

Разрушительные соединения для озонового слоя are also present in air conditioners saving in the summer heat, as well as in cooling equipment. Widely developed industrial activity of a person also weakens earth protection. It is oppressed by industrial emissions into the atmosphere, water (some of the harmful substances evaporates over time), pollute the stratosphere and exhaust gases of cars. The latter, as statistics show, is increasing every year. Negatively affects the ozone layer and rocket fuel.

Natural influence

Knowing what an ozone hole is, you also need tohave an idea of ​​how many of them are above the surface of our planet. The answer is disappointing: there are many gaps in the earth’s defense. They are small and often represent not a hole, but a very thin remaining layer of ozone. However, there are two huge unprotected spaces. This is the Arctic and Antarctic ozone hole.

Стратосфера над полюсами Земли почти не содержит protective layer at all. What is the reason? After all, there are no cars and industrial production. It's all about the natural influence, the second reason for the destruction of the ozone layer. Polar vortices occur in the collision of warm and cold air currents. These gas formations in large quantities contain nitric acid, which under the influence of very low temperatures and reacts with ozone.

Бить тревогу экологи начали только в двадцатом century. The destructive ultraviolet rays that make their way to the earth without encountering an ozone obstacle can cause skin cancer in humans, as well as the death of many animals and plants (primarily marine). Thus, international organizations have banned almost all the compounds that destroy the protective layer of our planet. It is believed that even if humanity abruptly stops any negative impact on ozone in the stratosphere, the existing holes will not disappear very soon. This is explained by the fact that harmful substances Freons, which have already made their way up, are able to exist independently in the atmosphere for tens of years.