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Atmospheric chemistry

Ozone clouds over the Atlantic

Nature volume 388, pages 625–626 (1997)Cite this article

Ozone in the atmosphere has many functions. Especially important to us is that it acts as a filter against solar ultraviolet radiation, protecting the biosphere from a large fraction of the biologically active and potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation of wavelengths less than about 325 nm. About 90% of all ozone is located in the stratosphere (above 10 to 20 km) and only 10% in the troposphere (the region down to ground level). The two regions are separated, dynamically, by the tropopause, but, as reported by Suhre et al. on page 661 of this issue1, new measurements taken on airliners show that, contrary to earlier information, pockets of extremely high ozone concentration are somehow getting from the stratosphere into the troposphere over the tropical Atlantic.

The effects of ozone and ultraviolet radiation in the troposphere are, however, not only negative. They produce hydroxyl (OH) radicals, which are involved in the removal of almost all atmospheric gases emitted by human and natural activities — despite very low tropospheric concentrations, about 4 in 1014 molecules of air, hydroxyl's high reactivity makes it the detergent of the atmosphere. Most hydroxyl radicals are formed when ozone absorbs solar ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation of wavelengths less than 325 nm. This leads to the production of electronically excited oxygen atoms which have enough energy to react with water vapour to produce hydroxyl radicals.

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Figure 1: Ozone profiles in the tropics show the contrasts between dry and wet seasons, and between continental and marine sites.

References

  1. Suhre, K. et al. Nature 388, 661–663 (1997).

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  1. Abteilung Chemie der Atmosphäre, Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie, Postfach 3060, 55020, Mainz, Germany

    Paul Crutzen & Mark Lawrence

Authors
  1. Paul Crutzen
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  2. Mark Lawrence
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Crutzen, P., Lawrence, M. Ozone clouds over the Atlantic. Nature 388, 625–626 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/41659

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