CAMS senior scientist Antje Inness, said, “Our functional ozone tracking and forecasting service reveals that the 2023 ozone hole got off to an early start and has grown rapidly given that mid-August. Tropomi ozone information are an important dataset for our ozone analysis.”
Join us as we check out the journey of the ozone hole, from its worrying discovery to the extraordinary strides made to fix it, and how satellites are assisting us track its recovery.
Measurements from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite reveal that this years ozone hole over Antarctica is one of the greatest on record. When temperatures high up in the stratosphere start to rise in the southern hemisphere, the ozone deficiency slows, the polar vortex weakens and lastly breaks down, and by the end of December, ozone levels return to typical.
Measurements from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite reveal this years ozone hole over the Antarctic. Credit: Contains customized Copernicus Sentinel information (2023 )/ processed by DLR
The Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite has discovered among the biggest ozone holes over Antarctica, potentially influenced by the 2022 Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai eruption. Regardless of historical damages, efforts like the Montreal Protocol go for international ozone layer recovery by 2050.
Measurements from the Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite reveal that this years ozone hole over Antarctica is one of the most significant on record. The hole, which is what researchers call an ozone diminishing location, reached a size of 26 million sq km (10 million sq miles) on September 16, 2023. This is approximately 3 times the size of Brazil.
Ozone Hole Measurements
The size of the ozone hole changes on a regular basis. From August to October, the ozone hole increases in size– reaching a maximum between mid-September and mid-October. When temperature levels high up in the stratosphere start to increase in the southern hemisphere, the ozone deficiency slows, the polar vortex damages and finally breaks down, and by the end of December, ozone levels return to normal.
Released in October 2017, Copernicus Sentinel-5P– brief for Sentinel-5 Precursor– is the very first Copernicus satellite dedicated to monitoring our atmosphere. It belongs to the fleet of Copernicus Sentinel objectives that ESA develops for the European Unions ecological tracking program.
The satellite brings an advanced multispectral imaging spectrometer called Tropomi. It finds the distinct fingerprints of climatic gases in various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum to image a large range of contaminants more properly and at a higher spatial resolution than ever previously.
The Tropomi total ozone measurements are processed within the Sentinel-5P ground sector at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) utilizing algorithms that has been developed by DLR and the Royal Belgium Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB).
This animation utilizes Sentinel-5P overall ozone measurements and shows the development of the ozone hole over the South Pole from September 1 to September 29, 2023. The Tropomi overall ozone measurements are processed within the Sentinel-5P ground segment at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) utilizing algorithms that have actually been established by DLR and the Royal Belgium Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB). Credit: Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel information (2023 )/ processed DLR
Diego Loyola, DLR senior scientist, commented, “The Sentinel-5P total ozone products have an accuracy at the portion level compared to ground-based information and this enables us to closely keep track of the ozone layer and its advancement. The Tropomi measurements are extending the international ozone information record of European satellite sensors covering nearly three decades.”
The Sentinel-5P total ozone column product is supplied within 3 hours after measurement time to the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS). WEB CAMS, which is implemented by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) on behalf of the European Union, consists of these near-real-time Sentinel-5P ozone data in their data analysis and forecast system.
Webcams senior scientist Antje Inness, said, “Our operational ozone monitoring and forecasting service shows that the 2023 ozone hole got off to an early start and has proliferated because mid-August. It reached a size of over 26 million sq km on 16 September making it among the greatest ozone holes on record. Tropomi ozone data are an essential dataset for our ozone analysis.”
Aspects Impacting the Ozone Holes Size
The irregularity of the size of the ozone hole is mainly determined by the strength of a strong wind band that flows around the Antarctic location. This strong wind band is a direct consequence of Earths rotation and the strong temperature differences between polar and moderate latitudes.
If the band of wind is strong, it acts like a barrier: air masses in between polar and temperate latitudes can no longer be exchanged. The air masses then remain isolated over the polar latitudes and cool down throughout the winter season.
Although it might be too early to talk about the factors behind the current ozone concentrations, some scientists hypothesize that this years unusual ozone patterns might be connected with the eruption of the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Haapai in January 2022.
The status of the ongoing ozone hole is shown here as a 3D-rendered animation. It shows the advancement of the ozone hole over the South Pole from July 1 to September 24, 2023. Credit: Contains customized Copernicus Sentinel information (2023 )/ processed by CAMS/ECMWF
Antje explains, “The eruption of the Hunga Tonga volcano in January 2022 injected a lot of water vapor into the stratosphere which just reached the south polar areas after completion of the 2022 ozone hole.
” The water vapor might have resulted in the increased development of polar stratospheric clouds, where chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) can speed up and respond ozone deficiency. The presence of water vapor might also contribute to the cooling of the Antarctic stratosphere, further boosting the development of these polar stratospheric clouds and resulting in a more robust polar vortex.”
However, its important to keep in mind that the precise effect of the Hunga Tonga eruption on the Southern Hemisphere ozone hole is still a topic of ongoing research. This is because of the lack of previous circumstances where such significant amounts of water vapor were injected into the stratosphere in modern observations.
ESAs mission supervisor for Copernicus Sentinel-5P, Claus Zehner, includes, “The Sentinel-5P overall ozone columns provide an accurate ways to keep track of ozone hole occurrences from area. Ozone hole phenomena can not be used in an uncomplicated way for keeping an eye on worldwide ozone modifications as they are determined by the strength of regional wind fields that flow around polar locations.”
In the 1980s, scientists discovered an open hole in Earths ozone layer, triggered by humanmade chemicals. Years later on, we can see the stable recovery of the ozone hole. Join us as we explore the journey of the ozone hole, from its disconcerting discovery to the unbelievable strides made to fix it, and how satellites are helping us track its recovery.
Effects and Remedies of Ozone Depletion
In the 1970s and 1980s, the extensive use of destructive chlorofluorocarbons in products such as refrigerators and aerosol tins damaged ozone high up in our environment– which led to a hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica.
In action to this, the Montreal Protocol was created in 1987 to safeguard the ozone layer by phasing out the production and usage of these damaging compounds, which is leading to a recovery of the ozone layer.
Claus concludes, “Based on the Montreal Protocol and the reduction of anthropogenic ozone-depleting compounds, scientists currently predict that the global ozone layer will reach its typical state once again by around 2050.”
ESA has actually been involved in monitoring ozone for lots of years. Launched in October 2017, Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite is the first Copernicus satellite devoted to monitoring our environment. With its advanced instrument, Tropomi, it has the ability to detect atmospheric gases to image air pollutants more precisely and at a higher spatial resolution than ever before from space.