What is the importance of ozone in the atmosphere?

Answer 1

The ozone is a hole in the earth that is caused by the suns ultraviolet rays.

Ozone is important because it protects all life on Earth. It is also important that it be above the troposphere, since it is hazardous to breathe. It is NOT a hole in the Earth.

Ozone is an allotrope of oxygen, that absorbs UV-B. UV-B damages the DNA of any organism that encounters it. This causes cataracts, cancer, mutation, loss of crop fields, and loss of arable land.

And Also, it could deplete all cheese and cows that make milk and burn them to ash when the sun comes out during the day.

Answer 2

Short Answer: The ozone layer absorbs UV-B from our Sun.

More detail

The ozone layer is the byproduct of very short wave UV (UV-C) breaking apart oxygen molecules. When ozone is formed, it serves to block energetic UV (UV-B) that other molecules don't, and acts to moderate day / night temperature swings a little bit.

Ozone absorbs UV-B, which would otherwise damage our DNA, and the DNA of all surface dwellers on Earth (including phytoplankton in the oceans). The act of absorption of UV-B or more energetic light breaks the ozone down into an oxygen molecule and a single oxygen atom. A few of these fragments reassemble as ozone. But primarily UV-C is required to break apart more oxygen to make replacement ozone.

The ozone layer is like a blanket that shields Earth (not just the living things). It is a "greenhouse gas" that moderates day / night temperature swings, and allows the "heat" of the nitrogen and oxygen at altitude to be radiated away (both up and down).

Diseases that *increase* as the ozone layer gets thinner...

cataracts

skin cancer (melanoma)

cancer in general

malnutrition / starvation (since our food crops are similarly attacked)

Ozone, like oxygen, absorbs UV-C and more energetic light. Ozone absorbs UV-B where other common atmospheric gases do not. Ozone absorbs / emits blue light (so some of the blue of our sky comes form ozone). Ozone absorbs / emits far infrared. Ozone absorbs / responds to microwaves corresponding to various bond oscillations and molecular rotations.

The ozone in the upper atmosphere absorbs ultraviolet (UV-B) radiation from sunlight and prevents it reaching the surface of the earth in what would otherwise be full strength. More ozone, less UV-B. Less ozone, more UV-B. Since UV-B will damage DNA-based life, the ozone layer makes DNA-based life outside the depths of the oceans or below the surface of the Earth possible.

The presence or absence of an ozone layer, however, is not directly related to global warming or climate change. Ozone is a strong absorber, but the infrared wavelengths absorbed represent a fairly low black-body temperature.

Essentially "UV-B" is the range where ozone is uniquely a "protectant". Ozone is photo-active between 215 to 280 nm, where other atmospheric constituents are not. See the link below showing the "Hartley bands":

215nm is the least energetic photon capable of dissociating oxygen (which can make some ozone), and oxygen is the weaker bound of nitrogen and oxygen molecules. So shorter than 215nm, we are protected by both nitrogen and oxygen. Longer than this, we are protected only by ozone (and meters of liquid water or millimeters of soil). Down around 280nm and less energetic (longer), the DNA of all life on Earth's surface is pretty safe. In fact there are biological processes that require this much energy, such as production of vitamin D in human skin.

The ozone layer is made up of ozone, which is 3 oxygens bonded together. This compound is capable of absorbing high frequency Ultraviolet (UV) light. The sun constantly emits high frequency UV light and the ozone layer absorbs 93%-99% of the light. This UV light is capable of destroying DNA, the genetic code of most living things. Damaged DNA would lead to deaths all across the world of most species, and would end life as we know it on earth. The Ozone layer is part of what makes Earth a planet where life can thrive!

In a way, you can say it is. The ozone layer is a shield protecting us from the sun's UV rays. Also, if we didn't have this important layer, the earth's temperature would actually decrease. Why? Because these gases trap the heat near the earth's surface, keeping it warm. But it is absolutely important if we want to survive.

It blocks harmful UVA, UVB from hitting us directly, if you were directly exposed for a long time you could possibly get skin cancer.

Absorb the UV light from the Sun therefore not letting it hit to us on earth.

Ozone absorbs UV-B, where little else in the atmosphere can. Our (and anmimals and plants) bodies are transparent to UV-B, but our DNA is not. So ozone protects us from UV-B. Damage to DNA causes cancer, mutation, and reduces crop yields.

It is *very* important.

The ozone layer is a region in bottom of the stratosphere called the tropopause, where ozone concentrations naturally are on the order of 10 ppm.

The ozone layer absorbs UV radiation that other gases do not, and acts as a mild sort of "heat blanket" between us, the Sun, and the 3 K cold of space.

The ozone layer protects everything above the ocean's surface from potentially cancer-causing UV radiation, and moderates the Earth's surface temperature.

The ozone layer protects us from excess ultraviolet light. Enough still gets through to cause cancer if we stay outside and get bad sunburns.

The O-Zone layer, which is a large gathering of O3 molecules (oxygen in air is O2) that prevents UV rays from hitting the surface.

Due to pollution, this gathering of O3 is disappearing slowly.

Ozone in the atmosphere, or more specifically the stratosphere, protects earth from harmful UV rays and keeps other layers in check. Funnily enough, ozone is poisonous at ground level and in more than small, ground level doses, is considered a pollutant.

See "What does the ozone layer do?"

ozone is a protective layer which save us from diseases like skin cancer . ozone above the atmosphere is very poisonus .the chemical formula of ozone is O3 {3 TO BE WRITTEN DOWN TO O).IT HAS A VERY UNIQUE FORMATION , due to the action of sun rays the oxygen split into two forming O and O after this if three oxygen atom combine this results in the formation of ozone .and many ozone form ozone layer

since 1980 it has been observed that ozone layer is depleting due to the cfc's emitted out from refigerator .ac.heater etc .if the ozone layer continues to deplete then our survival on this earth would be very difficult...

Ozone plays two significant roles in the atmosphere. There is a very high ozone layer, well above the part of the atmosphere that we breathe, which serves a vital function of filtering out a lot of the ultraviolet radiation from the sun, which would otherwise do a lot of damage. Ozone also appears in the lower atmosphere as a part of air pollution, and it is unhealthful to breathe.

Answer 3

:) Good question.

The O-Zone layer is part of the atmosphere, If it did not exist well, I'd say we'd be sunburnt alot!

The O-zone layer protects us from the suns dangerous ultra violet rays, It lets certain light waves through except for extremely damaging ones.

But recently a hole was discovered in the O-zone layer over Antarctica.

although recently they have started to believe the hole is a natural happening.

Answer 4

Well there's good ozone and bad ozone. The good ozone is in the stratosphere and it protects us from the strong UV rays the sun gives off. The bad ozone is located in the troposphere and is created from car exhaust and other environmentally scarring things. Currently, we are depleting the good ozone faster than it can be recreated and we are adding more ozone to the troposphere (which is bad) and is a factor in global warming.

Answer 5

Ozone is a tri oxygen molecule. It is formed in a natural process by the action of UV light on oxygen molecule.Ozone is present in the stratosphere of the earth's atmosphere. It protects us from the harmful UV light of the sun.

Answer 6

Ozone is a gas in the atmosphere that protects everything living on the Earth from harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays from the Sun.

Answer 7

See "What is the ozone layer?"
See "Why is ozone so important to us?"

Answer 8

Ozone is the triatomic form of oxygen. It is Important as it protects us from the harmful ultraviolet radiations of the sun.

Answer 9

Ozone is found in the stratospheric region of atmosphere. This ozone is present in the form of ozone layer which protects us from harmful radiations of the sun.