The ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high

concentrations of ozone (O3). This layer absorbs 93-99% of the sun's high frequency
ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to life on earth. [1] Over 91% of the
ozone in Earth's atmosphere is present here. [1] It is mainly located in the lower
portion of the stratosphere from approximately 10 km to 50 km above Earth, though
the thickness varies seasonally and geographically. [2] The ozone layer was
discovered in 1913 by the French physicists Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson. Its
properties were explored in detail by the British meteorologist G. M. B. Dobson, who
developed a simple spectrophotometer (the Dobsonmeter) that could be used to
measure stratospheric ozone from the ground. Between 1928 and 1958 Dobson
established a worldwide network of ozone monitoring stations which continues to
operate today. The "Dobson unit", a convenient measure of the total amount of
ozone in a column overhead, is named in his honor.

Origin of ozone
The photochemical mechanisms that give rise to the ozone layer were discovered by the British
physicist Sidney Chapman in 1930. Ozone in the Earth's stratosphere is created by ultraviolet
light striking oxygen molecules containing two oxygen atoms (O2), splitting them into individual
oxygen atoms (atomic oxygen); the atomic oxygen then combines with unbroken O2 to create
ozone, O3. The ozone molecule is also unstable (although, in the stratosphere, long-lived) and
when ultraviolet light hits ozone it splits into a molecule of O2 and an atom of atomic oxygen, a
continuing process called the ozone-oxygen cycle, thus creating an ozone layer in the
stratosphere, the region from about 10 to 50 km (32,000 to 164,000 feet) above Earth's surface.
About 90% of the ozone in our atmosphere is contained in the stratosphere. Ozone
concentrations are greatest between about 20 and 40 km, where they range from about 2 to 8
parts per million. If all of the ozone were compressed to the pressure of the air at sea level, it
would be only a few millimeters thick.

Ultraviolet light and ozone

Although the concentration of the ozone in the ozone layer is very small, it is vitally important to
life because it absorbs biologically harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation coming from the Sun. UV
radiation is divided into three categories, based on its wavelength; these are referred to as UV-A
(400-315 nm), UV-B (315-280 nm), and UV-C (280-100 nm). UV-C, which would be very
harmful to humans, is entirely screened out by ozone at around 35 km altitude. UV-B radiation
can be harmful to the skin and is the main cause of sunburn; excessive exposure can also cause
genetic damage, resulting in problems such as skin cancer. The ozone layer is very effective at
screening out UV-B; for radiation with a wavelength of 290 nm, the intensity at the top of the
atmosphere is 350 billion times stronger than at the Earth's surface. Nevertheless, some UV-B
reaches the surface. Most UV-A reaches the surface; this radiation is significantly less harmful,
although it can potentially cause genetic damage.

Distribution of ozone in the stratosphere

The thickness of the ozone layerthat is, the total amount of ozone in a column overhead
varies by a large factor worldwide, being in general smaller near the equator and larger towards
the poles. It also varies with season, being in general thicker during the spring and thinner during
the autumn in the northern hemisphere. The reasons for this latitude and seasonal dependence are
complicated, involving atmospheric circulation patterns as well as solar intensity.
Since stratospheric ozone is produced by solar UV radiation, one might expect to find the highest
ozone levels over the tropics and the lowest over polar regions. The same argument would lead
one to expect the highest ozone levels in the summer and the lowest in the winter. The observed
behavior is very different: most of the ozone is found in the mid-to-high latitudes of the northern
and southern hemispheres, and the highest levels are found in the spring, not summer, and the
lowest in the autumn, not winter in the northern hemisphere. During winter, the ozone layer
actually increases in depth. This puzzle is explained by the prevailing stratospheric wind
patterns, known as the Brewer-Dobson circulation. While most of the ozone is indeed created
over the tropics, the stratospheric circulation then transports it poleward and downward to the
lower stratosphere of the high latitudes. However in the southern hemisphere, owing to the ozone
hole phenomenon, the lowest amounts of column ozone found anywhere in the world are over
the Antarctic in the southern spring period of September and October.
The ozone layer is higher in altitude in the tropics, and lower in altitude in the extratropics,
especially in the polar regions. This altitude variation of ozone results from the slow circulation
that lifts the ozone-poor air out of the troposphere into the stratosphere. As this air slowly rises in
the tropics, ozone is produced by the overhead sun which photolyzes oxygen molecules. As this
slow circulation bends towards the mid-latitudes, it carries the ozone-rich air from the tropical
middle stratosphere to the mid-and-high latitudes lower stratosphere. The high ozone
concentrations at high latitudes are due to the accumulation of ozone at lower altitudes.
The Brewer-Dobson circulation moves very slowly. The time needed to lift an air parcel from the
tropical tropopause near 16 km (50,000 ft) to 20 km is about 45 months (about 30 feet (9.1 m)
per day). Even though ozone in the lower tropical stratosphere is produced at a very slow rate,
the lifting circulation is so slow that ozone can build up to relatively high levels by the time it
reaches 26 km.
Ozone amounts over the continental United States (25N to 49N) are highest in the northern
spring (April and May). These ozone amounts fall over the course of the summer to their lowest
amounts in October, and then rise again over the course of the winter. Again, wind transport of
ozone is principally responsible for the seasonal evolution of these higher latitude ozone patterns.
The total column amount of ozone generally increases as we move from the tropics to higher
latitudes in both hemispheres. However, the overall column amounts are greater in the northern
hemisphere high latitudes than in the southern hemisphere high latitudes. In addition, while the
highest amounts of column ozone over the Arctic occur in the northern spring (March-April), the
opposite is true over the Antarctic, where the lowest amounts of column ozone occur in the
southern spring (September-October). Indeed, the highest amounts of column ozone anywhere in
the world are found over the Arctic region during the northern spring period of March and April.
The amounts then decrease over the course of the northern summer. Meanwhile, the lowest

amounts of column ozone anywhere in the world are found over the Antarctic in the southern
spring period of September and October, owing to the ozone hole phenomenon.

Ozone depletion.
The ozone layer can be depleted by free radical catalysts, including nitric oxide (NO), nitrous
oxide (N2O), hydroxyl (OH), atomic chlorine (Cl), and atomic bromine (Br). While there are
natural sources for all of these species, the concentrations of chlorine and bromine have
increased markedly in recent years due to the release of large quantities of manmade
organohalogen compounds, especially chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and bromofluorocarbons.[3]
These highly stable compounds are capable of surviving the rise to the stratosphere, where Cl
and Br radicals are liberated by the action of ultraviolet light. Each radical is then free to initiate
and catalyze a chain reaction capable of breaking down over 100,000 ozone molecules. The
breakdown of ozone in the stratosphere results in the ozone molecules being unable to absorb
ultraviolet radiation. Consequently, unabsorbed and dangerous ultraviolet-B radiation is able to
reach the Earths surface.[citation needed] Ozone levels, over the northern hemisphere, have been
dropping by 4% per decade. Over approximately 5% of the Earth's surface, around the north and
south poles, much larger (but seasonal) declines have been seen; these are the ozone holes.
In 2009, nitrous oxide (N2O) was the largest ozone-depleting substance emitted through human
activities. [4]