What is a ozone hole?

Answer 1

The "hole" in the ozone layer is really more of a thinning of this protective layer that is high up in the atmosphere. The ozone layer is made up of oxygen atoms grouped together in 3s (the oxygen you breathe is grouped in 2s). The importance of the ozone layer is that it absorbs much of the UV radiation that is part of sunlight, thus keeping us down here on the surface of the earth from being harmed by excessive UV radiation.

There is a lot of information available on this topic on the web, but be careful where you go in your searches. Stick with organizations that are actively involved with this kind of research rather than personal homepages, general info sites, etc. The latter can be a good "jumping off" point for becoming familar with the topic, but the information there is not necessarily accurate or current. I've included a link to NOAA below - this is the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. Their site is full of great info on the ozone layer.

Answer 2

Ozone (O3) is poisonous us to us (and causes pollution at sea level) but at high levels in the atmpspere forms a protective layer over the Earth that stops a lots of the really nasty sunrays getting thru to us (eg UV, I think in particlar UVb and UVc).
Unformtualtely it can be destroyed with chloroflurocarbons (CFC's), which were used in refridgerators (and still is there in older makes), areosol cans etc. These CFC's rise into the atmosphere and 1 molocule of CFC can literally break up millions upon millions of ozone molecules up.
This has mainly occurred over the poles and has lead to a thinning and now an actual hole where no ozone exists.
This means people living under this hole or thinner areas are at a higher risk of skin cancer. Living in New Zealand we get a bit of this happening...but in everyday life you don't actually notice it anyway....AND parts of NZ are actually high risk skin cancer anyway (due to clear atmopshere).
Now most places have CFC fridges and CFC free prpleeants in aeorosol cans (see the back lable and it often tells you this).

Answer 3

hi there
i live in tasmania, little island south of aussie.
we have a nasty big hole in the ozone layer above us right now, it's cause by jetstream winds circulating around the globe and like a drain emptying, circles the poles in both north and south hemispheres, this concentrates the ozone depleting nasties in one area and so the damage to the layer is more pronounced. we get what is called a 'tassie tan' mainlanders who come down for holidays get really sunburnt!! skin cancers are higher etc.

Answer 4

It's a low density region in the ozone layer that surrounds the earth especially at the poles. There was a somewhat large one in the past but it's rapidly decreasing in size now.

Answer 5

ozone hole
–noun, any part of the ozone layer that has become depleted by atmospheric pollution, resulting in excess ultraviolet radiation passing through the atmosphere.