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Title: Arctic ozone wiped out by solar storms
Source:
New Scientist
URL Source: http://www.newscientist.com/channel/space/mg18524906.300
Published: Mar 13, 2005
Author: na
Post Date: 2005-03-13 09:43:01 by gengis gandhi
Keywords: Arctic, storms, ozone
Views: 81
Comments: 7
Arctic ozone wiped out by solar storms New Scientist GIGANTIC solar storms destroyed nearly 60 per cent of the ozone above the Arctic during the spring of 2004. The ozone, which shields us from harmful ultraviolet radiation, lies mostly in the lower and mid-stratosphere. Man-made chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) have been mainly responsible for the depletion of the ozone layer. Now, Cora Randall of the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado at Boulder and her colleagues have used data collected from seven satellites to show that a record barrage of charged particles from the sun in October and November 2003 also destroyed large amounts of ozone. "We have never seen ozone close to this level in the northern hemisphere," says Randall. It started when Earth's magnetic field funnelled some of the electrons from the solar storm into the upper atmosphere over the poles. The electrons ionised nitrogen molecules in that region, and the ions then combined with oxygen to form nitrogen oxides (NO and NO2) - levels of which rose dramatically towards the end of 2003. These molecules were sucked down into the stratosphere by polar vortex winds, where each one ripped apart hundreds of ozone molecules, just as CFCs do. Ozone levels remained low into July 2004 (Geophysical Research Letters, vol 32, p L05802).
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Begin Trace Mode for Comment # 5.
#1. To: All (#0)
the sun? nonsense. it's gotta be greenhouse gases. I mean, it seems unlikely that a giant, fucking flaming ball of gas could heat up a planet, you know...
Greenhouse gases? I think it's cataracts.
I guess I'll go stare at the sun for about an hour now. geez. now it's like I need to look at a nice butt just to cancel that discordant wavelength from my consiousness. (that right there is one of the main reasons people turn the lights off, but still need viagra)
Caution: Don't get a Styx in your eye/I.
There are no replies to Comment # 5. End Trace Mode for Comment # 5.
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#2. To: gengis gandhi (#1)
#3. To: 2Trievers (#2)
#5. To: gengis gandhi (#3)
Replies to Comment # 5.