• Smoke from major wildfires destroys the

    From ScienceDaily@1:317/3 to All on Thu Mar 17 22:30:46 2022
    Smoke from major wildfires destroys the ozone layer

    Date:
    March 17, 2022
    Source:
    University of Waterloo
    Summary:
    A new study shows that smoke from wildfires destroys the ozone
    layer.

    Researchers caution that if major fires become more frequent with
    a changing climate, more damaging ultraviolet radiation from the
    sun will reach the ground.



    FULL STORY ==========================================================================
    A new study shows that smoke from wildfires destroys the ozone layer.

    Researchers caution that if major fires become more frequent with a
    changing climate, more damaging ultraviolet radiation from the sun will
    reach the ground.


    ========================================================================== Atmospheric chemists from the University of Waterloo found that smoke
    from the Australian wildfires of 2019 and 2020 destroyed atmospheric
    ozone in the Southern Hemisphere for months. The ozone shield is a part
    of the stratosphere layer of the Earth's atmosphere that absorbs UV rays
    from the sun.

    The researchers used data from the Canadian Space Agency's Atmospheric Chemistry Experiment (ACE) satellite to measure the effects of smoke
    particles in the stratosphere. The results appear in the journal Science.

    "The Australian fires injected acidic smoke particles into the
    stratosphere, disrupting the chlorine, hydrogen and nitrogen chemistry
    that regulate ozone," said Peter Bernath, research professor in Waterloo's Department of Chemistry and lead author of this study. "This is the
    first large measurement of the smoke, which shows it converting these ozone-regulating compounds into more reactive compounds that destroy
    ozone." Similar to the holes over polar regions, this damage is a
    temporary effect, and the ozone levels returned to pre-wildfire levels
    once the smoke disappeared from the stratosphere. But an increase in
    the prevalence of wildfires would mean the destruction happens more often.

    "The ACE satellite is a unique mission with over 18 continuous years
    of data on atmospheric composition. ACE measures a large collection of molecules to give a better, more complete picture of what is happening in
    our atmosphere," Bernath said. "Models can't reproduce atmospheric smoke chemistry yet, so our measurements provide a unique look at chemistry
    not seen before."

    ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Waterloo. Note:
    Content may be edited for style and length.


    ========================================================================== Journal Reference:
    1. Peter Bernath, Chris Boone, Jeff Crouse. Wildfire smoke destroys
    stratospheric ozone. Science, 2022; 375 (6586): 1292 DOI: 10.1126/
    science.abm5611 ==========================================================================

    Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220317143749.htm

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