Scientists at Canada’s University of Waterloo have discovered a “giant” hole in the ozone layer above most of the Earth’s equatorial region.
This hole appears throughout the year and is seven times larger than the hole above Antarctica, which appears each spring.
Professor King Ben Lowe told the British newspaper The Independent that his research shows the hole has existed for 30 years and covers a huge area that could affect half the Earth’s population.
“Unlike the Antarctic ozone hole, which appears only in the spring, the equatorial hole has been present in all seasons since the 1980s and is almost seven times larger in area,” he added.
He emphasized that the hole may cause global concern, especially with its potential to increase ultraviolet radiation on Earth and subsequently cause skin cancer, cataracts and other negative health and ecosystem effects in the tropics.
“There are preliminary reports that ozone depletion levels in the tropics are already threatening large numbers of their populations, and that the associated ultraviolet radiation is reaching much higher areas than expected,” he said.
The professor admits that “it may seem inconceivable that the great tropical ozone hole has not been discovered before, but there are some fundamental challenges to making this discovery.”
First, using conventional photochemical theory, an equatorial ozone hole would not be expected to exist. observed data.”
According to research published in the scientific journal “AIP”, as happens in the Antarctic hole, the new hole shows an 80% reduction in ozone in its center.
This research also sheds light on the differences between popular theories about the causes of ozone depletion.
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) from chemical production were previously believed to be the biggest cause of ozone depletion, and this newspaper reported that since the launch of the Montreal Protocol in 1987, banning the use of the substances it produces has has been It has a significant effect in reducing their global use.
But despite the ban, the study says larger and deeper core holes in the ozone layer were detected in the late 2000s and between 2020 and 2021.
This university professor added: “This was not expected from any model based on photochemistry and climate theory.
Professor Lu and his colleagues proposed another theory 20 years ago, which they called Cosmic Ray Electron Interaction (CRE) for short.
“The recorded results strongly suggest that both the Antarctic ozone hole and the equatorial ozone hole formed by a single mechanism, and the CRE mechanism shows excellent agreement with the documented data,” he said.
At the same time, this university professor emphasized: No doubt, chlorofluorocarbons are the main cause of ozone layer destruction, but cosmic lusts play a major catalytic role in causing ozone deposition in the poles and equatorial region.
Source: Lebanon Debate
