Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 01/14/2008 - 07:04
Forums
Antarctic Weather Stations

I have seen satellite images in several books that show that there is a hole in the ozone layer in the Earth's atmosphere around where Antarctic is located.  That would indicate that the Sun's rays would have less to block them where you are located.  From just visual observations you have made while walking around outside there, is there anything that is visible in the sky that would make it obvious to you that there is indeed a hole in the Earth's ozone layer where you are located?

Mon, 01/14/2008 - 23:30

Kirk Beckendorf

No, you cannot see the ozone hole. Ozone is a clear gas made of three oxygen atoms. It is clear just like the ozygen you need to breath (which is made of 2 oxygen atoms). Thanks for writing.
Mr. B. 

Tue, 01/15/2008 - 04:46

Guest

Thanks for your reply.  I was not really asking if you could see the hole in the ozone layer, but rather whether that hole in the ozone layer had any noticeable effects such as the sunlight being brighter than normal or causing one's eyes to water or some other similar impact.  Also, I find it very curious that the hole in the ozone is located where it is located.  Many people blame it on human pollution.  If that were the case, should the hole be located over some very congested city like Los Angeles, California for example?

Thu, 01/17/2008 - 02:00

Kirk Beckendorf

When the sun is out, in fact even when it is cloudy, it is very bright here. But that is because of the highly refective snow/ice. Ozone does not block or absorb the visible light waves but it does absorb certain UV wavelegths. Also this time of year the ozone levels have risin back up. That is a very good question about the location of the ozone hole. The chemicals which destroy the ozone are fairly evenly distributed throughout the stratosphere because of the mixing which occurs in the troposphere. For an ozone hole to occur, there needs to be enough of the ozone destroying molecules,  temperatures need to be low enough to form certain cloud types in the stratosphere, isolation of the air and sunlight. Those conditions occur over Antarctic during the southern hemispheres late winter and early spring.
Thank you very much for the questions!!!
Kirk