Man's effect on stratospheric ozone
Since McDonald, at the beginning of this decade, first proposed that water vapor from SST exhaust would lead to increases in skin cancer, about a dozen man-induced mechanisms have been suggested as threatening to modify our stratospheric ozone uv-shield. Possible thinning of the ozone layer has been attributed to one or more of the catalytic ozone destroyers, water vapor (HO/sub x/), oxides of nitrogen (NO/sub x/), chlorine (ClX); or bromine (BrX). The original catalyst, HO/sub x/, rather quickly lost its role to NO/sub x/. In an almost unique evolution, computed sensitivity of stratospheric ozone to NO/sub x/ progressively declined until a reversal of effect occurred. Models now compute a thickening of the ozone layer for any but high level or very massive injections of NO/sub x/. Meanwhile, computed sensitivity to ClX has fluctuated widely and in 1978 models increased to the point where comparisons with observations were becoming an embarrassment. The potential role of BrX has also increased but awaits a credible source of stratospheric bromine to bring it center stage. More recently the atmospheric build-up of carbon dioxide, by cooling the stratosphere and increasing the chemical equilibrium level of ozone, has also been recognized as a potential modifier of the ozone layer.
- Research Organization:
- California Univ., Livermore (USA). Lawrence Livermore Lab.
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-7405-ENG-48
- OSTI ID:
- 6140035
- Report Number(s):
- UCRL-82556; CONF-790858-2
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 4. international symposium on environmental biogeochemistry, Canberra, Australia, 27 Aug 1979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
BROMINE COMPOUNDS
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
CARBON DIOXIDE
CHEMICAL EFFLUENTS
AIR POLLUTION
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
EXHAUST GASES
NITROGEN OXIDES
OZONE LAYER
DISTURBANCES
WATER VAPOR
ISOLATED VALUES
MATHEMATICAL MODELS
STRATOSPHERE
THEORETICAL DATA
CARBON COMPOUNDS
CARBON OXIDES
CHALCOGENIDES
DATA
DATA FORMS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
FLUIDS
GASEOUS WASTES
GASES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
INFORMATION
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NUMERICAL DATA
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POLLUTION
VAPORS
WASTES
500200* - Environment
Atmospheric- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport- (-1989)