A study recently accepted to the Journal of Geophysical Research suggests that deliberate CFC reductions are responsible for partial recovery of the ozone layer. However, in certain circumstances, the recovery is more than can be explained by CFC reductions alone.

What they found is both good news and a puzzle.

The good news: In the upper stratosphere (above roughly 18 km), ozone recovery can be explained almost entirely by CFC reductions. “Up there, the Montreal Protocol seems to be working,” says co-author Mike Newchurch of the Global Hydrology and Climate Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

The puzzle: In the lower stratosphere (between 10 and 18 km) ozone has recovered even better than changes in CFCs alone would predict. Something else must be affecting the trend at these lower altitudes.

It will be interesting to find out what caused the additional recovery. Either way, congratulations to the Montreal Protocol for mitigating what could have turned to an ugly situation.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 27th, 2006 at 5:52 pm and is filed under Science. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.