The ozone layer is one layer of the stratosphere, the 2nd layer of the Earth's atmosphere. The stratosphere is the mass of protective gases clinging to our planet.

The stratosphere gets its name considering information technology is stratified, or layered: as superlative increases, the stratosphere gets warmer. The stratosphere increases in warmth with elevation because ozone gases in the upper layers absorb intense ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

Ozone is only a trace gas in the atmosphere—only about iii molecules for every 10 million molecules of air. But it does a very important job. Similar a sponge, the ozone layer absorbs $.25 of radiations hit Earth from the sun. Even though we need some of the sun's radiation to live, besides much of information technology tin damage living things. The ozone layer acts as a shield for life on Globe.

Ozone is good at trapping a type of radiations chosen ultraviolet radiation, or UV light, which can penetrate organisms' protective layers, like peel, damaging Dna molecules in plants and animals. There are 2 major types of UV light: UVB and UVA.

UVB is the crusade of skin atmospheric condition like sunburns, and cancers like basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma.

People used to recall that UVA lite, the radiations used in tanning beds, is harmless because information technology doesn't cause burns. Nonetheless, scientists now know that UVA low-cal is even more harmful than UVB, penetrating more securely and causing a deadly pare cancer, melanoma, and premature crumbling. The ozone layer, our Earth'south sunscreen, absorbs about 98 percent of this devastating UV light.

The ozone layer is getting thinner. Chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are a reason we take a thinning ozone layer. A cfc (Chlorofluorocarbon) is a molecule that contains the elements carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. CFCs are everywhere, by and large in refrigerants and plastic products. Businesses and consumers apply them because they're cheap, they don't catch fire easily, and they don't commonly poison living things. But the CFCs first eating away at the ozone layer once they get blown into the stratosphere.

Ozone molecules, which are simply made of iii joined oxygen atoms, are e'er being destroyed and reformed naturally. But CFCs in the air arrive very difficult for ozone to reform once it's broken apart. The ozone layer, which just makes up 0.00006 percent of Earth's atmosphere, is getting thinner and thinner all the time.

"Ozone holes" are popular names for areas of damage to the ozone layer. This is inaccurate. Ozone layer damage is more like a really thin patch than a hole. The ozone layer is thinnest near the poles.

In the 1970s, people all over the world started realizing that the ozone layer was getting thinner and that this was a bad affair. Many governments and businesses agreed that some chemicals, like aerosol cans, should be outlawed. There are fewer aerosol cans produced today. The ozone layer has slowly recovered as people, businesses, and governments work to control such pollution.

ozone layer

The corporeality of ozone in the atmosphere is measured in "Dobson units."

One thousand thousand to One
Compared to other gases in the atmosphere, ozone is pretty rare. Co-ordinate to NOAA, there are but well-nigh iii molecules of ozone for every ten million molecules of air.

aerosol tin can

Noun

container of liquid material nether high pressure. When released through a small-scale opening, the liquid becomes a spray or cream.

Noun

layers of gases surrounding a planet or other celestial torso.

cancer

Noun

growth of abnormal cells in the trunk.

chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)

Noun

chemical compound generally used in refrigerants and flame-retardants. Some CFCs have destructive effects on the ozone layer.

cling

Verb

to attach or stick to.

consumer

Substantive

person who uses a good or service.

harm

Noun

harm that reduces usefulness or value.

devastate

Verb

to destroy.

Dna

Noun

(deoxyribonucleic acrid) molecule in every living organism that contains specific genetic information on that organism.

chemical element

Noun

chemical that cannot be separated into simpler substances.

Substantive

elevation to a higher place or below sea level.

gas

Substantive

state of matter with no fixed shape that volition make full whatever container uniformly. Gas molecules are in constant, random motility.

government

Noun

system or order of a nation, state, or other political unit.

inaccurate

Adjective

untrue.

melanoma

Substantive

dangerous and sometimes fatal peel cancer.

molecule

Noun

smallest physical unit of measurement of a substance, consisting of two or more than atoms linked together.

outlaw

Verb

to make illegal or against the police force.

oxygen

Substantive

chemic element with the symbol O, whose gas grade is 21% of the Globe's temper.

ozone hole

Noun

circular pattern, usually located near the Antarctic, of thin atmospheric ozone, which absorbs harmful ultraviolet sunlight.

Noun

layer in the temper containing the gas ozone, which absorbs well-nigh of the sunday's ultraviolet radiations.

penetrate

Verb

to button through.

plastic

Substantive

chemical material that tin be easily shaped when heated to a high temperature.

toxicant

Noun

substance that harms health.

pole

Noun

extreme north or south point of the Globe'south centrality.

Noun

introduction of harmful materials into the environment.

radiation

Noun

free energy, emitted equally waves or particles, radiating outward from a source.

refrigerant

Noun

substance used to continue materials cool.

skin

Noun

soft external roofing of some animals.

sponge

Noun

substance that hands absorbs other cloth.

stratify

Verb

to separate into layers.

stratosphere

Noun

level of Globe's atmosphere, extending from 10 kilometers (6 miles) to l kilometers (31 miles) above the surface of the Earth.

ultraviolet radiation

Substantive

powerful lite waves that are too short for humans to see, merely can penetrate Earth'south temper. Ultraviolet is often shortened to UV.

UVB

Noun

type of ultraviolet (UV) radiations that can cause sunburn, skin cancer, and types of heart damage.

volcanic eruption

Noun

activeness that includes a belch of gas, ash, or lava from a volcano.

  • Credits

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    Writers

    Kim Rutledge
    Tara Ramroop
    Diane Boudreau
    Melissa McDaniel
    Santani Teng
    Erin Sprout
    Hilary Costa
    Hilary Hall
    Jeff Hunt

    Illustrators

    Mary Crooks, National Geographic Society
    Tim Gunther

    Editors

    Jeannie Evers, Emdash Editing
    Kara West

    Educator Reviewer

    Nancy Wynne

    Producer

    Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Society

    Sources

    Dunn, Margery One thousand. (Editor). (1989, 1993). "Exploring Your World: The Adventure of Geography." Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Club.

    Last Updated

    May 9, 2011

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