Arctic ozone layer is thinner

IQALUIT — Results from a new NASA-European study show that the protective ozone layer around the Arctic region is the thinnest ever recorded since 1997.

According to this study, carried out in northern Sweden, the amount of ozone in the upper atmosphere over the High Arctic is 60 per less than it was in Nov. 1999.

Ozone protects against potentially dangerous ultraviolet radiation from the sun, which can cause skin cancer and other health problems in animals and human beings.

They study also concludes cold temperatures in the upper atmosphere above the High Arctic are contributing to ozone breakdown.

Global warming may be a factor in this cooling of the upper atmosphere. That’s because so-called “greenhouse gases” trap warm air near the earth’s surface and keep it from reaching the higher levels, 7 km. off the earth’s surface.

Chlorine gas—a gas known to break down ozone— thrives in the cold. In the past, compounds called CFCs, commonly used used in refrigeration units and aerosols, released chlorine into the upper atmosphere.

Although these harmful CFCs have now been banned, ozone breakdown continues.

NASA scientists say they are disturbed about these new findings.