National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Monday, November 23, 2009

Photo: Polar Winds Depleting Ozone, Affecting Climate Change, Study Says


Email to a Friend	<< Back to Full Story

A series of images from NASA's Total Ozone Monitoring System (TOMS) shows a fairly steady decline in the annual levels of stratospheric ozone above the North Pole.

A recent study shows that ozone-depleting gases were drawn down from the upper atmosphere last year at near-record levels. Since ozone heats the upper atmosphere, the finding suggests that stronger polar winds could have major impacts on global climate change.

Image courtesy NASA