New Study Provides Further Evidence Ozone Layer No Longer in Decline
31.08.2005 - Other
A collaborative study involving researchers from University of Colorado at Boulder, National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the University of Wisconsin Madison, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois indicates Earth's ozone layer, while still severely depleted, is no longer in decline. This study is based on long-term data from satellites and ground stations (1996-2002).
According to the study, it most likely will be decades before the ozone layer recovers, and it may never stabilize at the levels measured prior to the mid-1970s, when scientists discovered human-produced chlorine and bromine compounds could destroy ozone and deplete the ozone layer. The ozone hole is still appearing each year but over the long term it should reduce in size.
The halt in the ozone decline follows the 1987 Montreal Protocol, an international agreement now ratified by more than 180 nations that established legally binding controls for nations on the production and consumption of halogen gases containing chlorine and bromine. The success of the Montreal Protocol shows what could be done with other international treaties for other even more serious issues such as climate change.
