International Day for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
Description:
Canada became the first country in the world to focus its attention and scientific interests on the Arctic ozone layer after the discovery of the ozone hole in Antarctica. Canadian scientists began measuring ozone levels over Canada in the 1930s. By the 1980s, this lengthy work had established that the ozone layer over Canada was depleting. And since the ozone layer protects the Earth from hard ultraviolet radiation, an increased dose of which leads to skin diseases, eye damage and a weakening of the immune system, even a slight decrease in ozone levels causes a natural alarm. In addition, ultraviolet radiation is harmful to plankton, the death of which leads to the extinction of marine animals that feed on them.
The decrease in the thickness of the ozone layer over the Arctic reaches a maximum during the winter months. This is the most interesting time for research, but Canadian scientists have to conduct them in the darkness of the polar night and at temperatures that periodically drop to -40 C. To ensure scientific work in such difficult conditions, in 1993 a scientific laboratory was opened at a weather station in Jurek (Ellesmere Island), allowing intensive research of the ozone layer in the polar latitudes of the Canadian Arctic.
Ground-based research by Canadian meteorologists is being coordinated with work under the Canadian space program. With the help of unique instruments placed on space satellites, Canadian scientists are able to determine the level of ozone and other chemicals at high altitudes, as well as observe the appearance of stratospheric ice clouds that accelerate the depletion of the ozone layer. When such satellites pass over the island, their data are compared with the results of ground observations, which allows us to verify their accuracy.
The main scientific goal of Canadian space research is to measure and understand the chemical processes that control the distribution of ozone in the Earth’s atmosphere, especially at high altitudes. The findings are intended to help governments assess the effectiveness of existing environmental policies (particularly the Montreal agreements banning chlorofluorocarbons) and develop additional protective measures to prevent further ozone depletion. Advances in understanding the mechanism of ozone depletion will tell scientists whether to fear the formation of an ozone hole over Canada in the future, similar to the Antarctic.
The problem of preserving the ozone layer, which protects all life on Earth from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation, is one of the paramount for scientists, ecologists and manufacturers of all countries of the world. The theme of the International Day for the Protection of the Ozone Layer is “Save the Sky: Protect Yourself – Protect the Ozone Layer”.