Is there a hole in the Ozone layer??

Question

Now you might think I'm kinda dumb should I say because of where I got this from, but I was watching the Fresh Prince of Belair I think yeserday and when will pulled out his father's old sweather, it was big and he said "well, why don't we just throw this up in sky and cover the hole in the ozone layer" or something like that. So is there really a hole in the Ozone layer?? If so why is it there or how did it get there and where is it if it's at a certain spot??

Answer 1

Holes in the ozone layer aren't regions with no ozone, rather they are areas of marked ozone depletion, particularly in the lower stratosphere. If you think of the ozone layer asa thick blanket, it is the lower part of this blanket that is depleted. The ozone hole occurs at the poles (although the ozone layer has suffered some depletion throughout the atmosphere), and is more pronounced because of a number of factors that amplify the global ozone depletion cycle. Globally, the main cause of ozone depletion is the presence of manmade free radical catalysts, of which CFC's are the most commonly known. In the presnce of UV light, these catalysts break down and "attack" ozone, destroying it. The ozone layer at the poles is most vulnerable because of the lower atmospheric temperatures, prolonged UV exposure (polar summers) and the "polar vortex" which is a circulating weather pattern that serves to "contain" the atmosphere at the poles. These conditions combine to deplete the ozone at a greater rate during spring.

Answer 2

Yes, there are two holes (main big ones), they are both positioned at the poles (south and north), in the 80`s some were believing the holes to be caused by the refrigerant gas CFC (Chlorofluorocarbons), but later, it has been found that those molecules were way too heavy to climb at the altitude needed to be disintegrate and affecting the Ozone layer. So now, some scientists are believing that it is caused by the negative ions at the poles, coming from the activity of the Earth geomagnetic shield. So in other words, they think that those holes are caused by a natural phenomenon of the planet, and are not related to human activities.

Answer 3

The truth is that it is *believed* to be there. IMPORTANT: there exists no scientific or other means to detect holes in the ozone nor their potential location. We can take guesses based upon pollution output and wind currents. They even show maps of 'holes?' at climate prediction centers, the same place we get our weather report. The last 4 days here were predicted to be rainy, not a drop fell.

Scientists say stuff they predict as if it were fact. Like you will read in every science textbook that the Earths core is mostly nickel, magama, etc. Yet man has only made it down 8 of the 2000+ miles. It is an educated guess, like a lot of science.

Read more than you'll ever want to know at the link in my sources below.

Answer 4

Yes, "holes" , or ozone thin regions in the upper atmosphere still exist at the poles, especially over the antartic. Ozone depletion was one of the primary reasons nations banded together to ban ozone destroying CFC emissions in aerosols.

We don't hear too much about ozone depletion anymore or the hole in the ozone layer but it is still as big an issue today as it was in the mid-eighties. It may be one of the reasons we are experiencing gbolal warming on such an accelerated scale.

(good question)

Answer 5

Ozone is a chemical made of three oxygen atoms. It is opaque to ultraviolet light, so it absorbs UV light from the Sun, protecting the surface of the Earth.

Humans have released many chemicals into the atmosphere that break down ozone. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are one such group of chemicals.

The ozone layer is most heavily depleted over the north and south poles, but ozone levels are falling across the entire planet.

Answer 6

There is an ozone layer. It exists in the very upper reaches of our atmosphere above the poles. There is always a hole, but it is more a thinning or thickening of collected O3 (Oxygen(3)) molecules. Its importance is that the layer provides a barrier to incoming radiation particles, which are dangerous to humans, that come from the sun and arrive following the magnetic lines of force into our polar areas. It has been determined that Hydrocarbon aerosols, that our species (mankind) continually release into our atmosphere (thousands of tons per year from spray cans etc. etc. etc.), migrate to the same locations above our poles and break down the O3 (ozone) into O2 and other combinations that do not provide the same level of shielding. Thus the thinning has been increasing so the amount of shielding has been decreasing and radiation levels have been increasing.

Answer 7

I believe there is one over Australia. It is not a complete hole in the Ozone layer but it is much thinner there.

Answer 8

No, but you can't actually see it because it's a hole . . . that's the way it is with the environment; we don't usually see or feel the effects of the damage we're doing until it's too late! As for the radio show, you must be listening to so-called "conservative" talk radio -- nothing they say on it is true!

Answer 9

Yes- it's called global warmming- turn off the t.v/ computer/ lights when your not using them that will help. The whole is over/around Antarctica and we only have 10 years to do something before its to late. And if you were wondering... no I am not obsessed with this issue.

Answer 10

there are tons of wholes. the most concntrated area are at the polar ice caps. theres not just one whole, theres tons.