Bio Activity 15.

6 th J By- Group 3 10

Bio Group 3
Garima Gurmohan Hansraj Kamalendu Kartik Kartikay

Aim of Activity
1. To find out about the chemicals causing depletion of ozone layer. 2. To find out if the regulations put in place to control the emission of these chemicals has succeeded in reducing the damage to the ozone layer. 3. To find if the size of hole in the ozone layer has changed in recent years.

Ozone
It is a molecule formed by 3 atoms of oxygen. While oxygen is essential for all life forms Ozone is a poison. Ozone a the higher levels of atmosphere is a product of UV radiation acting on Oxygen molecule. The high energy UV radiation split Oxygen molecules into free oxygen, which combines with molecular oxygen to form ozone as shownO2->O+O (UV) O+O2 ->O3 (Ozone).

Importance of Ozone and UV Rays

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 radiation coming from the Sun. UV radiation is divided into three categories, based on its wavelength; these are referred to as UV-A (400315 nm), UV-B (315280 nm), and UV-C (280100 nm). UV-C, which would be very harmful to all living things, 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 million 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.

The chemicals causing depletion of Ozone Layer

The ozone layer can be depleted by free radical catalysts, including nitric oxide, nitrous oxide, hydroxyl, atomic chlorine, and atomic bromine. 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 man-made organ halogen compounds, especially chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), bromofluorocarbons and hydrochlorofluorocarbons. 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. In 2009, nitrous oxide was the largest ozone-depleting substance emitted through human activities.

Regulations put in Place and the Ozone Hole

1. After negotiation of an international treaty at the UNEP (the Montreal Protocol), CFC production was sharply limited beginning in 1987 to 1986 levels and phased out completely by 1996. 2. On August 2, 2003, scientists announced that the depletion of the ozone layer may be slowing down due to the international ban on CFCs. Three satellites and three ground stations confirmed that the upper atmosphere ozone depletion rate has slowed down significantly during the past decade. The study was organized by the American Geophysical Union. Some breakdown can be expected to continue due to CFCs used by nations which have not banned them, and due to gases which are already in the stratosphere. CFCs have very long atmospheric lifetimes, ranging from 50 to over 100 years, so the final recovery of the ozone layer is expected to require several lifetimes.

Replacement of CFCs by HCFCs

Compounds containing CH bonds have been designed to replace the function of CFC's (such as HCFC), since these compounds are more reactive and less likely to survive long enough in the atmosphere to reach the stratosphere where they could affect the ozone layer. While being less damaging than CFC's, HCFC's also have a significant negative impact on the ozone layer. HCFC's are also being phased out.

Photo Showing the Ozone Layer Hole in Antarctica at its maximum in 1996

Different Layers Of the Atmosphere

Thank You