In the past 20 years, the ozone loss in the Antarctic has been ‘massive’. Compared to the same phenomenon in the Arctic, a new study ahs found that the loss in the Antarctic has been dramatic!
It all happened in the heart of Antarctica’s ozone hole region! Scientists have astonishingly found there, ‘massive and widespread” localized ozone depletion! Though it was found to have begun in the late 1970s, it has become more pronounced in the 1980s and 90s.
Certain atmospheric air samples, taken after 1980, had shown an almost complete absence of ozone, as compared to earlier decades. The ozone losses in the Arctic were sporadic — in contrast. But, the greatest losses did not begin to approach the regular losses in the northern hemisphere! — According to the researchers.
Based on more than 40 years of readings, the findings were made possible with the help of polar observation stations and balloon-borne measuring mechanisms. The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
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