Here are some interesting facts about the ozone layer that is so crucial for our existence on planet earth.
Bengaluru: Today (September 16) is World Ozone Day. As we observe this day, let’s give you some interesting facts about this all-important layer.
1. As per eartheclipse.com, millions of years ago, only single cell creatures existed on earth. At that time, the earth had no oxygen that would support life. But as the organisms evolved, they released tiny amounts of oxygen through photosynthesis, which led to the formation of the Ozone Layer.
2. Ozone was first discovered in 1839 by a Swiss chemist Christian Schonbein when he was studying electrical discharges.
3. The ozone layer was discovered in 1913 by the French physicists Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson.
4. Did you know that there are two types of Ozone? Good Ozone is naturally produced after the photochemical reactions in the stratosphere. It is this layer that protects us from the harmful rays of the sun.
5. The other ozone, called the tad Ozone occurs near the earth surface in a layer called the troposphere. It is harmful to breathe and cause damages to trees, crops and other vegetation. It is a major ingredient in urban smog.
6. Temperature on earth is conducive for its living beings to sustain themselves. And for this, we have to thank the ozone layer as it filters out UV rays (98% is absorbed) and regulates the temperature.
7. Bromine, chlorine, halons, methyl bromide harm the ozone layer. Chlorofluorocarbons used as refrigerants also damage the ozone layer.
8. What’s the ozone hole? Well, it’s not a literal hole, but a depletion of the ozone layer, maybe by 60% observed every year between September and November since first discovered in 1985 in the Antarctic region.
9. Venus also has a thin ozone layer at an altitude of 100 kilometers from the planet's surface.
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