Interesting facts about ozone holes. Interesting facts about ozone
This huge hole in the ozone layer of the earth was discovered in 1985, it appeared over Antarctica. In diameter, it is more than one thousand kilometers, and in area - about nine million kilometers squared.
Every year in the month of August, the hole disappears and it happens as if this huge ozone gap never existed.
Ozone hole - definition
An ozone hole is a decrease or complete absence of ozone concentration in the Earth's ozone layer. According to the report of the World Meteorological Organization and the theory generally accepted in science, a significant decrease in the ozone layer is caused by an ever-increasing anthropogenic factor - the release of bromine and chlorine-containing freons.
There is another hypothesis, according to which the very process of formation of holes in the ozone layer is natural and in no way connected with the results of the activity of human civilization.
A decrease in the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere causes a combination of factors. One of the main ones is the destruction of ozone molecules during reactions with various substances of natural and anthropogenic origin, as well as the absence of sunlight and radiation during the polar winter. This includes the polar vortex, which is particularly stable and prevents the penetration of ozone from the latitudes of the polar region, and the resulting stratospheric polar clouds, the surface of the particles of which acts as a catalyst for the ozone decay reaction.
These factors are typical for Antarctica, and in the Arctic, the polar vortex is much weaker due to the fact that there is no continental surface. The temperature here is higher by a certain amount, in contrast to Antarctica. Polar stratospheric clouds are less common in the Arctic and tend to break up in early autumn.
What is Ozone?
Ozone is a poisonous substance that is harmful to humans. In small quantities, it has a very pleasant smell. To be convinced of this, you can take a walk in the forest in a thunderstorm field - at the time we will enjoy the fresh air, but later we will feel very unwell.
Under normal conditions, there is practically no ozone below the Earth's atmosphere - this substance is present in large quantities in the stratosphere, starting somewhere around 11 kilometers above the earth and extending up to 50-51 kilometers. The ozone layer lies just at the top of the catfish, that is, approximately 51 kilometers above the earth. This layer absorbs the deadly rays of the sun and thus protects our and not only our lives.
Before the discovery of ozone holes, ozone was considered a substance that poisoned the atmosphere. It was believed that the atmosphere was filled with ozone and that it was he who was the main culprit of the "greenhouse effect", with which something had to be done.
In the present, on the contrary, humanity is trying to take steps to restore the ozone layer, as the ozone layer is becoming thinner throughout the Earth, and not just over Antarctica.
MOSCOW, September 16 - RIA Novosti. International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, a thin "shield" that protects all life on Earth from the harmful ultraviolet radiation of the Sun, is celebrated on Monday, September 16 - on this day in 1987 the famous Montreal Protocol was signed.
Under normal conditions, ozone, or O3, is a pale blue gas that, as it cools, turns into a dark blue liquid and then blue-black crystals. In total, the ozone in the planet's atmosphere accounts for about 0.6 parts per million by volume: this means, for example, that in each cubic meter of the atmosphere there is only 0.6 cubic centimeters of ozone. For comparison, there are already about 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - that is, more than two glasses for the same cubic meter of air.
In fact, such a small concentration of ozone can be called a boon for the Earth: this gas, which forms a saving ozone layer at an altitude of 15-30 kilometers, is much less "noble" in the immediate vicinity of a person. According to the Russian classification, ozone belongs to the substances of the highest, first class of danger - it is a very strong oxidizing agent, which is extremely toxic to humans.
International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone LayerIn 1994, the UN General Assembly proclaimed September 16 as the International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer. On this day in 1987, the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed.Vadim Samoylovich, a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Catalysis and Gas Electrochemistry, Faculty of Chemistry, Lomonosov Moscow State University, helped RIA Novosti to understand the different properties of difficult ozone.
ozone shield
"This is a fairly well-studied gas, almost everything has been studied - everything never happens, but the main thing is (known) ... Ozone has many all sorts of applications. But do not forget that, generally speaking, life arose thanks to the ozone layer - this is probably the main moment," says Samoylovich.
In the stratosphere, ozone is formed from oxygen as a result of photochemical reactions - such reactions begin under the influence of solar radiation. There, the concentration of ozone is already higher - about 8 milliliters per cubic meter. The gas is destroyed when it "meets" with certain compounds, for example, atomic chlorine and bromine - it is these substances that are part of the dangerous chlorofluorocarbons, better known as freons. Before the advent of the Montreal Protocol, they were used, among others, in the refrigeration industry and as propellants in gas cartridges.
Protocol to protect the ozone layer completed the task, scientists sayThe Montreal Protocol has fulfilled its task - observations show that the content of ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere is decreasing, and with the help of the agreement, the scientific community has made great progress in understanding the processes in the atmosphere associated with the ozone layer, Russian representative to the International Ozone Commission, a leading researcher, told RIA Novosti Institute of Atmospheric Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences named after Obukhov Alexander Gruzdev.In 2012, when the Montreal Protocol celebrated its 25th anniversary, experts from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) named the protection of the ozone layer as one of only four key environmental problems in which mankind has made significant progress. At the same time, UNEP noted that the ozone content in the stratosphere had ceased to decrease since 1998, and, according to scientists, by 2050-2075 it could return to levels recorded before 1980.
Ozone smog
At 30 kilometers from the Earth's surface, ozone "behaves" well, but in the troposphere, the surface layer, it turns out to be a dangerous pollutant. According to UNEP, tropospheric ozone concentrations in the Northern Hemisphere have nearly tripled over the past 100 years, making it the third-largest "anthropogenic" greenhouse gas.
Here, too, ozone is not emitted into the atmosphere, but is formed under the influence of solar radiation in the air, which is already polluted by ozone "precursors" - nitrogen oxides, volatile hydrocarbons, and some other compounds. In cities where ozone is one of the main components of smog, vehicle emissions are indirectly "to blame" for its appearance.
It is not only people and the climate that suffer from ground-level ozone. UNEP estimates that lowering tropospheric ozone could help save some 25 million tons of rice, wheat, soybeans and corn that are lost each year to this plant-toxic gas.
It is precisely because ground-level ozone is no longer so useful that meteorological and environmental monitoring specialists constantly monitor its concentrations in the air of large cities, including Moscow.
Ozone useful
"One of the very interesting properties of ozone is bactericidal. It is practically the first among all such substances, chlorine, manganese peroxide, chlorine oxide," says Vadim Samoylovich.
The same extreme nature of ozone, which makes it a very strong oxidizing agent, explains the scope of this gas. Ozone is used for sterilization and disinfection of premises, clothing, tools and, of course, water purification - both drinking and industrial and even wastewater.
In addition, the expert emphasizes that in many countries ozone is used as a substitute for chlorine in pulp bleaching plants.
"Chlorine (when reacting) with organics gives correspondingly organochlorines, which are much more toxic than just chlorine. By and large, this (the appearance of toxic waste - ed.) can be avoided either by sharply reducing the concentration of chlorine, or simply eliminating it. One of the options - replacing chlorine with ozone," Samoylovich explained.
It is also possible to ozonize the air, and this also gives interesting results - for example, in Ivanovo, specialists from the All-Russian Research Institute of Labor Protection and their colleagues conducted a series of studies, during which "in spinning shops, a certain amount of ozone was added to ordinary ventilation ducts." As a result, the prevalence of respiratory diseases decreased, while labor productivity, on the contrary, grew. Air ozonation in food warehouses can improve its safety, and there are also such experiences in other countries.
Ozone is toxic
The catch with the use of ozone is the same - its toxicity. In Russia, the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) for ozone in the atmospheric air is 0.16 milligrams per cubic meter, and in the air of the working area - 0.1 milligrams. Therefore, Samoylovich notes, the same ozonation requires constant monitoring, which greatly complicates the matter.
“It’s still a rather complicated technique. It’s much easier to pour a bucket of some bactericide there, pour it out and that’s it, but here you need to follow, there must be some kind of preparation,” the scientist says.
Ozone harms the human body slowly but seriously - prolonged exposure to ozone-polluted air increases the risk of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. Reacting with cholesterol, it forms insoluble compounds, which leads to the development of atherosclerosis.
"At concentrations above the maximum permissible levels, headache, irritation of the mucous membranes, coughing, dizziness, general fatigue, and a decline in cardiac activity may occur. Toxic ground-level ozone leads to the appearance or exacerbation of respiratory diseases, children, the elderly, and asthmatics are at risk," noted on the website of the Central Aerological Observatory (CAO) of Roshydromet.
Ozone explosive
Ozone is harmful not only to inhale - matches should also be hidden away, because this gas is very explosive. Traditionally, 300-350 milliliters per liter of air has been considered a "threshold" for dangerous levels of ozone gas, although some scientists are working with higher levels, Samoylovich says. But liquid ozone - that same blue liquid that darkens as it cools - explodes spontaneously.
This is what prevents the use of liquid ozone as an oxidizing agent in rocket fuel - such ideas appeared shortly after the start of the space age.
“Our laboratory at the university arose just on such an idea. Each rocket fuel has its own calorific value in the reaction, that is, how much heat is released when it burns out, and hence how powerful the rocket will be. So, it is known that the most powerful option is liquid hydrogen mixed with liquid ozone… But there is one minus. Liquid ozone explodes, and it explodes spontaneously, that is, without any apparent reason," says a representative of Moscow State University.
According to him, both Soviet and American laboratories spent "an enormous amount of effort and time to make it somehow safe (business) - it turned out that it was impossible to do it." Samoylovich recalls that one day colleagues from the USA managed to obtain especially pure ozone, which "seemed to" not explode, "everyone was already beating the timpani", but then the whole plant exploded, and work was stopped.
“We have had cases when, say, a flask with liquid ozone stands, stands, liquid nitrogen is poured into it, and then - either the nitrogen has boiled away there, or something - you come, but half of the installation is not there, everything has blown to dust. Why it exploded - who knows," the scientist notes.
Interesting facts about ozone. Everyone knows how unusual the air smells after a thunderstorm. This is the smell of ozone formed during electrical discharges, which is not without reason translated from Greek as “odorous”. The characteristic smell of ozone cannot be confused with anything - it smells of freshness. Ozone is active oxygen. It is a compound of 3 oxygen atoms. The molecular formula is O3, the molecular weight is 48, which is 2.5 times heavier than oxygen. The O3 molecule is unstable and, at sufficient concentrations in air under normal conditions, spontaneously transforms into O2 in a few tens of minutes with the release of heat. The ozone layer is located 19 to 35 km above the Earth's surface. Ozone is also formed close to the Earth's surface during thunderstorms, lightning strikes, and in x-ray equipment. Ozone combines with other substances much faster than oxygen. Ozone kills bacteria very quickly, for this reason it is used to purify indoor water and air. Ozone was first discovered in 1785 by the Dutch physicist Van Marum. In 1850, the high activity of ozone as an oxidizing agent and its ability to add to double bonds in reactions with many organic compounds was determined. Both of these properties of ozone subsequently found wide practical application. Ozone, being one of the strongest oxidizing agents, has strong disinfecting properties. It is able to destroy viruses, bacteria, and also affect those microorganisms that are resistant to the action of chlorine. Ozone has been used to purify water for over a hundred years. For the first time, ozone was used for disinfection and deodorization of water in 1898 in Saint Mor (France). Already in 1907, the first water ozonation plant was built in the French city of Bon Voyage, which treated 22,500 cubic meters of water per day from the Vasubie River for the needs of the city of Nice. In 1911, a drinking water ozonation station was put into operation in St. Petersburg. In 1916, there were already 49 installations for the ozonation of drinking water. Ozone has become widespread only in the last 30 years due to the emergence of reliable, compact and energy-saving devices for its synthesis - ozonizers (ozone generators). And as an antiseptic, it was used during the First World War. Since 1935, rectal administration of an ozone-oxygen mixture has been used to treat various intestinal diseases (proctitis, hemorrhoids, ulcerative colitis, fistulas, suppression of pathogenic microorganisms). The study of the effect of ozone made it possible to use it in surgical practice for infectious lesions, the treatment of tuberculosis, pneumonia, hepatitis, herpes infection, anemia, etc. In Moscow in 1992, under the guidance of the Honored Scientist of the Russian Federation, D.M.N. Zmyzgovoy A.V. the "Scientific and Practical Center for Ozone Therapy" was created, where ozone is used to treat many diseases. Today, ozone is considered to be a popular effective means of disinfecting water, air and purifying food. Currently, 95% of drinking water in Europe and the US is treated with ozone. Ozonation is also used in the purification of wastewater from phenols, petroleum products, cyanides, sulfides and other impurities that are hazardous to the environment. Atmospheric ozone plays an important role for all life on the planet. Forming an ozone layer in the stratosphere, it protects plants and animals from harsh ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, the problem of the formation of ozone holes is of particular importance. The largest ozone hole with a diameter of over 1000 km was first discovered in 1985, in the Southern Hemisphere, over Antarctica.
What is the importance of the ozone layer in maintaining life on Earth, you will learn from this article.
The importance of ozone for life on Earth
Ozone is a substance that contains a molecule consisting of 3 oxygen atoms. Under normal weather conditions, it is a bluish gas. When a decrease in temperature is observed, the ozone passes into a liquid phase with an indigo color. Being in solid form, this substance forms dark blue or even black crystals. Ozone has a characteristic odor and is easy to feel after a thunderstorm. This term was introduced into scientific circulation by the German chemist Schönbein in 1840.
Above the Earth's surface, ozone creates a unique ozone layer at an altitude of 20-40 km. It was formed under the influence of solar ultraviolet radiation in the upper atmosphere and is of great importance in the life of all living beings on the planet.
The ozone layer and its importance
The significance of the ozone layer for the biosphere is that it absorbs rays from outer space that are harmful to animals and human health. It is a kind of filter that delays the electromagnetic and ultraviolet radiation of the sun. But today there is a destruction of the ozone layer, through emissions into the atmosphere of freon - an organic substance that forms holes in it. As a result, its protective actions are noticeably worsened. Every spring, over Antarctica, a hole the size of the United States forms in the ozone layer.
The depletion of the ozone layer affects the climate. Since it retains heat dissipated from the surface of the planet, a decrease in its level leads to a change in the direction of the prevailing winds and weather. In the future on Earth, scientists predict crop failures, droughts, food shortages and famine. And such a sad picture, if no action is taken, will come in 100 years.
The effect of the ozone layer on living organisms
Life on Earth would be different if the three millimeter thin ozone layer did not protect it. If the ozone screen disappeared today, then life could exist only deep under water or in the waters of the oceans.
As we said above, the ozone layer absorbs short-wave harmful ultraviolet rays. A decrease in its concentration has a detrimental effect on living organisms. A variety of pathologies are observed in humans and animals: impaired lung function, diseases of the immune and nervous systems, cancer of the retina and skin. The increased impact of ultraviolet radiation is changing entire ecosystems, especially the life cycle of phytoplankton and terrestrial vegetation.
We hope that from this article you have learned how important ozone is for life.
