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Environment

Antarctic Ozone Hole Second Smallest It’s Been in 20 Years

Oct. 25, 2012 1:55pm

Earlier this month, TheBlaze reported that statistics from the National Snow and Ice Data Center showed a record high in Antarctic sea ice levels. Scientists were attributing this to global warming that lead to the ozone hole above the southern-most continent to contribute to cooler weather, which promoted these ice levels.

Almost a month later, NASA released a report saying the Antarctic ozone hole is now the second smallest it has been in 20 years, thanks to cooler temperatures higher in the atmosphere.

NASA, NOAA Record Second Smallest Size for the Antarctic Ozone Hole in the Last 20 Years

Antarctic ozone hole on Sept. 22. (Image: YouTube screenshot)

NASA stated that the ozone hole over the Antarctic began appearing on a yearly basis in the 1980s, attributable to ozone-depleting chemicals (chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs), according to scientists. NOAA explained further that the hole forms in September and October.

According to NASA, the hole reached its maximum size for the year (8.2 million square miles) on Sept. 22. The largest the hole has ever been was on Sept. 6, 2000, at 11.5 million square miles. Watch this animation showing formation of the ozone hole over Antarctica in recent months:

“The ozone hole mainly is caused by chlorine from human-produced chemicals, and these chlorine levels are still sizable in the Antarctic stratosphere,” NASA atmospheric scientist Paul Newman of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center said in a statement. “Natural fluctuations in weather patterns resulted in warmer stratospheric temperatures this year. These temperatures led to a smaller ozone hole.”

NASA reported a change in concentration of the ozone layer above the Antarctic being observed as well. Both NASA and NOAA observe the ozone regularly as it is Earth’s shield from the sun’s UV radiation.

According to NASA, ozone holes and global warming are related to an extent. It noted that the CFCs that cause ozone depletion are minor players in the greenhouse gas effect.

In the South Pole specifically, the greenhouse gases absorb heat at lower altitudes keeping the surface warm but leading cooler temps at higher levels in the atmosphere. This cooling, NASA wrote, results in more high, level clouds, which increase the reactions of CFCs to deplete the ozone.

NASA, NOAA Record Second Smallest Size for the Antarctic Ozone Hole in the Last 20 Years

This image represents the 2006 average size of the ozone hole (2006 held the largest average size of the hole). (Image: YouTube screenshot)

Newman expects that if a reduction in these CFCs continues, then the ozone layer at this location could return to 1980s levels sometime around 2065. NASA stated that adherence to the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty regulating CFCs, has helped protect ozone.

If the ozone layer is coming back, a report earlier this year from the universities of Bristol, Utrecht, California and Alberta found it might not have the most positive of environmental effects. The researchers created a model showing that methane could be trapped in the Antarctic sea ice. If an unusual amount of ice begins to melt, the persistent greenhouse gas could be released into the atmosphere only furthering the effects of global warming.

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Comments (68)

1 2
  • Skee
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 4:13pm

    The atmosphere absorbs heat at lower altitutdes because of CO2 and leaves the upper
    atmosphere cooler. I guess the laws of physics do not apply to hot air rises and cooler
    air drops. We’re not talking about oil and water. Someone needs to show these scientists
    a hot air balloon, it’ll blow their minds.

    Report this comment

    Skee  
    • Detroit paperboy
      Posted on October 25, 2012 at 5:34pm

      And this is the times the oceans will subside and the planet will begin to heal…..thanks to the mullah Odumbass………all praise Odumbass…………….Allah Akbar Odumbass…”….”

      Report this comment

      Detroit paperboy  
    • G-WHIZ
      Posted on October 26, 2012 at 11:22am

      That’s not an “O-zone hole”….That’s KingO’commie bowing down to Muslim Dictators!! :)

      Report this comment

      G-WHIZ  
  • TheBurningTruth
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:53pm

    All this talk about bogus global warming and the sea rising reminds me of my vacation to Greece just before they imploded in late 2008. The tour group was standing at Thermopylae where the Spartans held off Xerxes from Persia. The Spartans were able to hold off the much superior force because they chose a very narrow place where the ocean came within a few hundred feet of the cliffs back in 480BC. In 2008, that “narrow spot” was now about a quarter of a mile wide and one had difficulty visualizing the ancient battle. I made the comment, “I guess that puts a dent in the global warming theory”. Boy, the dirty looks I got from the liberals and global warming conspiracists!

    Report this comment

    TheBurningTruth  
  • GrumpyCat
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:51pm

    First, they didn’t *know* there was a hole in the ozone layer until the 1980′s when NASA built an experiment to look. Previously it was only theory.

    Formed a theory, looked, found, predicted doom.

    What they don’t know is whether or not this is new. Ground evidence is not sufficient else they would have had no need to fly a special satellite.

    Report this comment

    GrumpyCat  
    • Oneirishman
      Posted on October 25, 2012 at 4:37pm

      Your quite the buzz kill, aren’t ya.

      Report this comment

      Oneirishman  
    • FotoChief
      Posted on October 26, 2012 at 10:39am

      Scientists at SouthPole Station told me that the ozone hole over the Antarctic has been there forever, as far as they new, and there was a similar hole over the Arctic. This was in 1965, during Operation DeepFreeze ’65-’66. The attempts to blame it on humans is laughable at best, and the words of the man fron Goddard Space Center is political propaganda.

      Report this comment

      FotoChief  
  • carbonated
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:50pm

    George Bush’s fault.

    Report this comment

    carbonated  
  • 2012Tennessean
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:43pm

    @762×51 “What are the odds that the ozone hole FIRST appeared in 1980 and never existed in the previous 4.5 billion years? ”

    The hole in the ozone was in fact first discovered in 1958. (ref L.Burkett, “What ever happened to the American Dream?” Since CFC’s didn’t exist then they changed the date of discovery. And the largest producer of chlorine in the atmosphere is (makes sense seeing that is where chlorine comes from)…. THE OCEANS!!!!

    Report this comment

    2012Tennessean  
    • IBD1UC
      Posted on October 26, 2012 at 2:22am

      Shucks! I thought it all started back in the 1940s from little children that ran out of ‘bubble’ soap and had to use Chlorine Bleach instead to blow bubbles. All those bubbles were filled with hot air and went up to the sky and popped leaving all the now-nasty chlorine in the atmosphere. So much too about the idea that is was those bubbles giving us a nice clean and bright sky. What a bummer this world is turning into.

      Report this comment

      IBD1UC  
  • PhineasJWhoopee
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:36pm

    I’m old enough to remember when the “climate experts” told us we would all freeze to death by the year 2000 due to global cooling. Then we would all have to wear space suits by the year 2000 due to the expanding ozone hole. Progressives always need a scare tactic to raise taxes.

    Report this comment

    PhineasJWhoopee  
  • The-Monk
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:26pm

    “The ozone hole mainly is caused by chlorine from human-produced chemicals, and these chlorine levels are still sizable in the Antarctic stratosphere,” NASA atmospheric scientist Paul Newman of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center said in a statement.”

    No…. it’s because we put a microwave dish up there and pointed it straight up to burn the atmosphere in order to make satellite signals bounce off better to spy on the Russians during the cold war.

    The cold is over, the technology got better, the Microwave dish was removed and the Ozone layer is just healing itself (very slowly).

    CFC’s were never the cause……

    Report this comment

    The-Monk  
    • Sol Invictus
      Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:44pm

      What color is the moon on your planet?

      Report this comment

      Sol Invictus  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:53pm

      @Sol Invictus
      “What color is the moon on your planet?”

      Same color as a friend of mine that worked on that project and told me about it before he died.

      Report this comment

      The-Monk  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on October 25, 2012 at 4:05pm

      Granted that I probably have some of the terminology incorrect. The basics are the same.

      Report this comment

      The-Monk  
    • Sol Invictus
      Posted on October 25, 2012 at 4:22pm

      OK, then you may be interested in some magic beans I have for sale….

      Report this comment

      Sol Invictus  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on October 25, 2012 at 4:38pm

      @Sol Invictus,

      You have magic beans…..

      The 3 signs of insanity; 1- Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. 2- Hearing voices. 3- Believing in magic.

      Since you believe you have some magic beans….. well, I rest my case. : )

      Report this comment

      The-Monk  
    • Sol Invictus
      Posted on October 25, 2012 at 5:09pm

      You appear to score 3 out of 3 – I rest my case on yours.

      Report this comment

      Sol Invictus  
    • The-Monk
      Posted on October 25, 2012 at 5:44pm

      @Sol Invictus
      “You appear to score 3 out of 3……”

      Resting a case on “appearances” isn’t very scientific.

      I rested mine on your own words, “… magic beans I have for sale.”

      Were you lying to me then or now or both?

      Report this comment

      The-Monk  
    • vashli19
      Posted on October 28, 2012 at 1:12pm

      Microwaves are long wave radiation and are not energetic enough to break down ozone. You’re not only crazy but stupid to boot!

      Report this comment

      vashli19  
  • Lotus503
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:20pm

    Question: How can an element (man made?) like chlorine, with a standard atomic weight of 35.435, rise to an altitude of somewhere between 10 to 40 miles, though a dense atmosphere comprised of mainly oxygen (20.946%, std. atomic weight: 15.999) and nitrogen (78.084%, std atomic weight: 14.007) to destroy the ozone layer? Or, for that matter, how does any molecule that is heavier than oxygen and nitrogen make it up that far?

    I contend that there is no physicist in the world that can, considering the conditions that exist here on earth, prove that any ozone destroying pollutant that is heaver than the surrounding atmosphere could possibly make it to the ozone layer, much less destroy it.

    Using that flawed science, I’m expecting the Titanic to bob to the surface any day now…

    Report this comment

    Lotus503  
  • Satrix
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:15pm

    Actually, the problem is not that complicated. Those ozone holes are actually global freezer burn, not methane. Is it a coincdence that they are hovering right above all that ice? That reminds me, I have defrost fridge soon.

    Report this comment

    Satrix  
  • eternal_vigilance
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:11pm

    Check the Air Force website. They claim they’ll be able to control the weather by 2025.

    http://csat.au.af.mil/2025/volume3/vol3ch15.pdf

    Report this comment

    eternal_vigilance  
  • coyote1hell
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:04pm

    Buh’rack said…see I toll’ you guys, this would happen…errr…uhhh.. disregard that…I need a REDO…

    Report this comment

    coyote1hell  
  • alinskythis
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:02pm

    Oh yeah, and chemtrails.

    Never seen one personally (in Southern California), but there is a frantic movement out there bleating hard about the medical dangers and catastrophic harm to the environment.

    You have to assume they are building underground cities for themselves for a reason.

    Report this comment

    alinskythis  
  • alinskythis
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:59pm

    There is always a kernel of truth, but the data is twisted.

    Just a couple auestions that need answers are, what about the massive, world-wide government weather manipulation and geo-engineering projects that are being implemented?

    What about global military HAARP facilities and their projects manipulating of the atmosphere?

    And what else don’t we know?

    America has got to stop saying, “Yum” when they are fed a spoonful of poo.

    Report this comment

    alinskythis  
  • term limits for congress
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:56pm

    Sorry to say that I have contributed more than my fair share to the methane gas problem.

    Report this comment

    term limits for congress  
    • AvengerK
      Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:14pm

      You philistine….thankfully Algore has saved the planet along with the honest and forthright United Nations IPCC. I can’t believe how lucky we are to have the oceans begin to stop rising since Barack Obama took office. But we need more. We need to pay billions of dollars to third world island-nation kleptocracies like Tuvalu and the Maldives. We need cap and trade..lots of cap and trade. We need windmills. We need to subsidize “green” programs for technology that hasn’t even been invented yet and subsidize them with billions of tax payer dollars.
      I’m trying not to laugh as I type this….

      Report this comment

      AvengerK  
  • SITDOWNANDSHUTUP
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:55pm

    This is 2012, correct????

    I’m pretty sure that New York City was supposed to be under a few meters of water by now. I might be understating that. I do remember seeing some clown (perhaps it was The Gorical), that NYC would be under 20 feet of water by the year 2012.

    To my knowledge, sea levels have not risen at all. When the condition formally known as “Global Warming” was pushed HARD, the rising seas was one of the #1 concerns. Billions would be displaced and/or die. Oops, guess the Ph.D crowd was a tad off.

    Report this comment

    SITDOWNANDSHUTUP  
  • alinskythis
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:54pm

    You cannot trust any science that is government-funded.

    They are heavily infiltrated, and under massive pressure to present “global warming” and the “climate change” hoax as anthropogenic. It’s not.

    Research papers published before 1998, and you will see another data set altogether.

    This is from the WaPo:

    “Just before leaving public office in 2001, Gore reported assets of less than $2 million; today, his wealth is estimated at $100 million.”

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/decision2012/al-gore-has-thrived-as-green-tech-investor/2012/10/10/1dfaa5b0-0b11-11e2-bd1a-b868e65d57eb_story.html

    Like war, terror!sm and “healthcare,” there is HUGE profit for the REAL 1%, whose names are seldom spoken, apart from GeoSo.

    (I mean, really, ONE GUY is responsible for all global evil? He’s got a lot of help.)

    They create a dualism, like, say, two political parties, or race wars, so you have a “good cop” and a “bad cop.”

    Then you play them against each other, swinging from left to right and back again, for centuries, raking in the money extorted from the victims, and feeding like psychic vampires off the loss, chaos and suffering.

    Report this comment

    alinskythis  
  • Lion420
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:44pm

    The ozone layer has got to go! It’s a global warming denier, and they are as we all know dangerous. The planet will melt if we don’t do something about global warming, and it’s deniers!

    Report this comment

    Lion420  
  • GroundZero is Nuclear Demolition x3
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:43pm

    Climate change is real, we call it WEATHER. As for humans being responsible for changes in WEATHER, COMPLETE BS!

    Report this comment

    GroundZero is Nuclear Demolition x3  
    • 762x51
      Posted on October 25, 2012 at 3:08pm

      Groundzero – Don’t tell anyone, but I have discovered the true cause of global warming and the bad news is there is nothing we can do about it, we are all doomed. I call that source THE SUN!

      It turns out that the SUN fuses 620 MILLION METRIC TONS of Hydrogen PER SECOND which puts out energy equivalent to 9.15 x 1010 MEGATONS of TNT every second. I know that this seems minimal compared to the power of an SUV, but in a head to head comparison, the data shows that the SUN is indeed more powerful than your family car, shocking, I know.

      What are the odds that the ozone hole FIRST appeared in 1980 and never existed in the previous 4.5 billion years? Give that at no time during those preceding eons did humans possess the technology to measure such a hole even if it did exist? Ozone wasn’t even discovered until 1913, what are the odds that we have learned everything there is to know about ozone in 99 years after 4.5 billion years of not knowing it existed?

      Report this comment

      762x51  
    • xkfxy7j
      Posted on October 25, 2012 at 7:20pm

      OMG!!!! What ever will we do when all the lefties get rid of nuclear power??? What will we do without the sun – what will happen to all the “green” energy than we get from solar panels Oh my Oh my!!!

      Report this comment

      xkfxy7j  
  • Anonymous T. Irrelevant
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:41pm

    Let’s see, the ozone hole smallest it has been in over 20 years, but they were trying to blames the ozone hole for the ice expansion, too. Sounds like someone needs to be kicked in the ice-hole.

    Report this comment

    Anonymous T. Irrelevant  
  • alinskythis
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:40pm

    Cool.

    Report this comment

    alinskythis  
  • Wiseone1w
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:35pm

    Blah, Blah, Blah.

    Report this comment

    Wiseone1w  
  • Mandors
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:33pm

    These guys really have no clue to what’s causing any of this.

    Report this comment

    Mandors  
  • SallyV
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:30pm

    I’m assuming the left will find a way to spin this for global warming. Al Gore needs more money and Obama needs another distraction.

    Report this comment

    SallyV  
  • The_Jerk
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:29pm

    A beautiful continent.

    Report this comment

    The_Jerk  
  • bekhiet
    Posted on October 25, 2012 at 2:28pm

    Sorry not sold on Global Warming, nor studies coming from any CA university.

    Report this comment

    bekhiet  
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