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CHICAGO - A new study shows just how dramatic the ozone loss in the Antarctic has been over the past 20 years compared with the same phenomenon in the Arctic.
The study found "massive" and "widespread" localised ozone depletion in the heart of Antartica's ozone hole region, beginning in the late 1970s, but becoming more pronounced in the 1980s and 1990s.
United States Government scientists said that there was an almost complete absence of ozone in certain atmospheric air samples taken after 1980, compared to earlier decades.
In contrast, the ozone losses in the Arctic were sporadic, and even the greatest losses did not begin to approach the regular losses in the northern hemisphere, the researchers said.
"Typically the Arctic loss is dramatically less than the Antarctic loss," said Robert Portmann, an atmospheric scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Scientists have been tracking the expanding ozone hole over Antarctica for about 20 years.
In October, Nasa scientists reported that this year's hole is the biggest ever, stretching over nearly 28 million sq km.
In Antarctica, local ozone depletion at some altitudes frequently exceeded 90 per cent, and often reached up to 99 per cent during the Antarctic winter in the period after 1980 compared to earlier decades.
- AFP
