Environmental Systems and Societies · Topic 6: Atmosphere and climate change
ES6.4 — Stratospheric ozone
Environmental Systems and Societies · SL / HL · syllabus-mapped notes
Solar radiation and the danger of UV
The Sun's electromagnetic spectrum, why shorter-wavelength UV carries more energy, and how stratospheric ozone absorbs all UVC and most UVB.
Impacts of UV and the ozone equilibrium
UV harm to phytoplankton, DNA and human health, the steady-state equilibrium of ozone formation and destruction, and how ODSs tip it.
Ozone depletion impacts and the Montreal Protocol
Rising surface UVB and polar ozone holes, and the Montreal Protocol as the most successful example of international environmental cooperation.
Ozone chemistry: equations and halogens
The chemical equations for ozone formation and destruction, how halogens from ODSs break down ozone, and why polar depletion peaks in spring.
HFCs, the Kigali Amendment and air conditioning
HFCs as ozone-friendly but potent greenhouse gases controlled by the Kigali Amendment, and the energy and refrigerant issues of air conditioning.