(ORDO NEWS) — The evolution of the Earth‘s climate takes into account many components. In a new study, scientists decided to find out what will happen to our planet if one day the ozone layer completely disappears – scientists tried to understand how critical this layer is for the temperature of the Earth’s surface. This is reported by Science Alert.
Spoiler alert – this is unlikely to end well for humanity. The fact is that without the ozone layer, our planet will be 3.5 Kelvin colder, that is, almost -270°C. Agree, it is unlikely that we will be able to cope with such temperatures. Scientists note that many feedback and influence mechanisms play an important role in stabilizing and establishing the overall average temperature of the Earth.
In simple words, the Earth receives radiation from the Sun, part of which is reflected from the upper layers of the atmosphere, and the rest goes down. Part of this radiation is absorbed by the air and the ground, and the rest is reflected from the Earth’s surface.
Most of this radiation goes back into space, but some is reabsorbed by the atmosphere, creating a greenhouse effect. It is he who heats the surface of our planet to temperatures exceeding those that could be reached without him.
However, the researchers note that this is a very simplistic picture — in fact, the planet’s temperature and climate depend on many different factors, including the various molecules in the atmosphere and the ocean-atmosphere circulation systems.
The researchers note that most climate models have ignored the role of ozone in the study of Earth’s climate, despite the fact that it is crucial in blocking the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. In a new study, scientists decided to correct this oversight.
It is known that the Earth did not always have an ozone layer – before the appearance of life on the planet, there was almost no ozone in our atmosphere. In fact, our Earth was a planet with a minimal ozone layer for billions of years.
Studies show that ozone levels in the Earth’s atmosphere stabilized to thick levels only relatively recently. And although molecular oxygen, which makes up a large part of the Earth’s atmosphere, plays a minor role in climate, the role of the ozone layer is important.
To study the impact of the ozone layer, scientists used a set of Earth climate models – scenarios varied depending on the amount of ozone in the upper atmosphere and allowed the planet’s temperature to reach equilibrium. Scientists have discovered that the presence of ozone has a warming effect on our planet — on average, it manages to raise the temperature on the Earth’s surface by about 3.5 Kelvin.
So, scientists have come to the conclusion that if the ozone layer were to disappear for some reason, it would cause catastrophic consequences for life on Earth.
The main effect will be a cooling of the upper layers of the stratosphere – the colder air will not be able to hold as much moisture, and therefore the stratosphere would become drier. Water vapor is an important greenhouse gas, so without it, the Earth’s overall greenhouse effect would be reduced.
Researchers also believe that ozone depletion will affect our overall climate. In addition, it will destabilize the stratosphere, which will prevent cloud formation. So clouds will appear only at lower and higher altitudes.
Also, researchers believe that some currents near the equator will strengthen, while others will weaken, which will dramatically worsen seasonal climatic weather conditions in all latitudes.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.