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Ozone (/ ˈ oʊ z oʊ n /) (or trioxygen) is an inorganic molecule with the chemical formula O 3.It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope O
The IPCC believes that "measured stratospheric O3 losses over the past two decades have generated a negative forcing of the surface-troposphere system" of around 0.15 0.10 watts per square metre (W/m 2). [39] Furthermore, rising air temperatures often improve ozone-forming processes, which has a repercussion on climate, as well.
When ozone is produced by solar UV radiation in the tropics, it is done so by circulation lifting ozone-poor air out of the troposphere and into the stratosphere where the sun photolyzes oxygen molecules and turns them into ozone. Then, the ozone-rich air is carried to higher latitudes and drops into lower layers of the atmosphere. [11]
Thus, at the upper thermosphere, where air density is very low and photon flux is high, oxygen photodissociation is fast while ozone creation is low, thus its concentration is low. Thus the most important reactions are oxygen photodissociation and oxygen recombination, with most of the oxygen molecules dissociated to oxygen atoms.
Ozone cycle illustrated over image by NASA astronaut Scott Kelly. Ozone is a ubiquitous yet highly reactive molecule in the atmosphere. Such a highly reactive oxidizer would normally be dangerous to life but ozone's concentration at sea level is usually not high enough to be toxic.
Aerobic organisms use atmospheric dioxygen as the terminal oxidant in cellular respiration in order to obtain chemical energy. The ground state of dioxygen is known as triplet oxygen, 3 [O 2], because it has two unpaired electrons. The first excited state, singlet oxygen, 1 [O 2], has no unpaired electrons and is metastable.
Trace gases are gases that are present in small amounts within an environment such as a planet's atmosphere.Trace gases in Earth's atmosphere are gases other than nitrogen (78.1%), oxygen (20.9%), and argon (0.934%) which, in combination, make up 99.934% of its atmosphere (not including water vapor).
There is evidence that tiny quantities of cyclic ozone exist at the surface of magnesium oxide crystals in air. [3] Cyclic ozone has not been made in bulk, although at least one researcher has attempted to do so using lasers. [4] Another possibility to stabilize this form of oxygen is to produce it inside confined spaces, e.g., fullerene. [5]