This article talked about many important facts dealing with the ozone (O3). It started with important facts about the ozone. Then it went into things such as the balance ozone in the stratosphere, ozone depletion, and monitoring the ozone from space. Below are some of the main points.
The main concentration of the ozone is less than 30 mi (48 km) high and depending on where it is in our sky, it can either help us or hurt us. Even though too much can hurt us we need it for our existence. The part of the ozone that protects us from the sun's ultraviolet radiation is about 15 mi (24 km) up.
Ozone molecules are created and destroyed in a section of the atmosphere known as the stratosphere. Because ozone is constantly being created and destroyed, the levels of ozone are changing all the time.
Since the 1970's there has been evidence that humans have been upsetting the balance of ozone in the atmosphere. One of the main ways is the production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC's). CFC's are not reactive with the air in the lower atmosphere, but once they get up in the ozone where UV radiation is being block, they break up O3 molecules. Because of this the ozone is being destroyed faster then it can be produced and the atmosphere is slowly getting thinner. This is referred to as ozone depletion.
When the ozone drops to very low levels, it is known as a "hole". The one ozone hole that we know of is located above Antarctica. .
Scientists have been studying the level of the ozone since the 1920's with instruments on the ground that read how much UV radiation would penetrate the atmosphere. More recently they have started using satellites to study the ozone. Because of these studies we can now predict the levels of the ozone. But scientists will keep studying the ozone because there is still much to be learned and it is important to our survival on earth.
