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Ground-level ozone (O 3), also known as surface-level ozone and tropospheric ozone, is a trace gas in the troposphere (the lowest level of the Earth's atmosphere), with an average concentration of 20–30 parts per billion by volume (ppbv), with close to 100 ppbv in polluted areas.
Ozone in the troposhere is determined by photochemical production and destruction, dry deposition and cross-tropopause transport of ozone from the stratosphere. [2] In the Arctic troposphere, transport and photochemical reactions involving nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as a result of human emissions also produce ozone resulting in a background mixing ratio of 30 to 50 ...
Increased surface UV leads to increased tropospheric ozone. Ground-level ozone is generally recognized to be a health risk, as ozone is toxic due to its strong oxidant properties. The risks are particularly high for young children, the elderly, and those with asthma or other respiratory difficulties.
These wavelengths cause skin cancer, sunburn, permanent blindness, and cataracts, which were projected to increase dramatically as a result of thinning ozone, as well as harming plants and animals. These concerns led to the adoption of the Montreal Protocol in 1987, which bans the production of CFCs, halons, and other ozone-depleting chemicals.
Ozone depletion is not a primary cause of climate change, however there exists a physical science connection between the two phenomena. The Earth's atmospheric ozone has two major effects on the Earth's temperature balance. Firstly, it absorbs solar ultraviolet radiation, leading to the heating of the stratosphere.
Brewer–Dobson circulation refers to the global atmospheric circulation pattern of tropical tropospheric air rising into the stratosphere and then moving poleward as it descends. [1] The basics of the circulation were first proposed by Gordon Dobson [2] [3] and Alan Brewer. [4] The term "Brewer–Dobson circulation" was first introduced in ...
Most of the ozone production occurs in the tropical upper stratosphere and mesosphere. The total mass of ozone produced per day over the globe is about 400 million metric tons. The global mass of ozone is relatively constant at about 3 billion metric tons, meaning the Sun produces about 12% of the ozone layer each day. [1]
Ozone in the troposphere is primarily produced through the photolysis of nitrogen dioxide by photons with wavelengths (λ) less than 420 nanometers, [1] which are able to reach the lowest levels of the atmosphere, through the following mechanism: [2]: pg. 22