OZONE DEPLETION BY HUMAN’S ACTIONS Essay -- Essays Papers

OZONE DEPLETION BY HUMAN’S ACTIONS The ozone layer is a very important component in the atmosphere. Ozone is not the same as the oxygen humans breathe. There is very little of this gas in the atmosphere. First off, let’s begin with a definition of the ozone layer. Ozone is a hot, slightly bluish gas. It is a molecule made up of three oxygen atoms, which are very similar to the molecule we are familiar with (O2), the molecule needed for human respiration. Despite the major smog problem, about 90 percent of Earth’s ozone are actually in the stratosphere, a layer of the atmosphere far above the Earth’s surface. It lies above the troposhere, the miles-thick lower layer where air is densest and where most weather occurs. So, it is evident that the ozone layer plays a vital role in what happens to the lives of humans. The presence of the ozone layer in our atmosphere is of vital importance to everything in the Earth. There are two types of ozone, "good ozone" and "bad ozone." Ozone in the stratosphere is referred to as being "good ozone," because it shields Earth from destructive ultraviolet radiation. The remaining 10 percent of the ozone, the "bad ozone," lie closely to the planet’s surface, in the troposhere, where at certain areas it is harmful to the public's health and welfare (Turekian 1). Even so, ozone is even more abundant in the stratosphere than in the troposphere (Walker2). It is important for everyone to know that ozone molecules overall are very rare in the Earth’s atmosphere. Ozone absorbs ultraviolet radiation from the sun. That makes ozone an essential defense in protecting humans against the UV-B wavelengths, which can pose the greatest threats of biological damage. Further Website resea... ...e, 1998<o:p </o:p Thompson<o:p </o:p "Links"<o:p </o:p Thompson<o:p </o:p Turekian<o:p </o:p "Links"<o:p </o:p "Links"<o:p </o:p Turekian<o:p </o:p Lutgens<o:p </o:p "Links"<o:p </o:p "Links"</o:p WORKS CITED Links Between Global Warming and Ozone Depletion http://www.ozone.org/<o:p </o:p <o:p </o:p Lutgens, Frederick, and Edward Tarbuck. The Atmosphere: An Introduction to Meteorology. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1979<o:p </o:p <o:p </o:p Thompson, Russell D. Atmospheric Processes and Systems New York: Routledge, 1998<o:p </o:p <o:p </o:p Turekian, Karl K. Global Environmental Change: Past, Present, and Future New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1996<o:p </o:p <o:p </o:p Walker, James C.G. Evolution of the Atmosphere New York: Macmillan, 1977