What is ozone destruction?

Answer 1

What is Ozone:

Ozone is a molecule having three atoms of oxygen. This compound is very rarely found at the surface of earth. It is because the formation of ozone generally takes place at higher altitudes. In the stratospheric region of earth a layer comprising most of the ozone and thus is called the ozone layer. Ozone may seem as just a gas from some people's perspective but it is one of the factors that have made humans and all living beings able to survive on this beautiful planet. Actually the formation of ozone layer is an interesting one.

Formation:

Oxygen which is present in the higher levels of atmosphere or stratosphere to be precise come under the influence of the UV radiations or the ultraviolet radiations which come from the sun. These ultraviolet radiations have a large amount of energy in them thus when they strike the oxygen molecule the O-O bond in the oxygen molecule breaks and two atoms of nascent oxygen i.e. [O] are formed. This nascent oxygen further reacts with the oxygen molecule again in the presence of high energy UV radiations and thus form a triatomic oxygen molecule. This layer of ozone is present in the lower stratospheric region of the atmosphere. Moreover this process has its reverse also in the ongoing process.The ozone formed has higher tendency to go back to its native state and thus form oxygen back. Thus this process of formation and depletion continues unless and until some external agent comes and alters the rate of depletion because the rate of formation of ozone can only be dependent on the ultraviolet radiations of sun which cannot be controlled.

CFCs:

CFCs i.e chlorofluorocarbons are chlorine and fluorine containing compounds which were discovered in the year 1928. These CFCs were thought to be a miracle compound as these could be used in refrigerators, deodorants, aerosol cans, air conditions as cooling agents. These were made into use most frequently and almost every person started using it. It was found later using some satellites that over the antarctic region a kind of thinning was seen in the ozone layer, a kind of hole that one one may have expected. it took years to find out that why was this sudden thinning seen.

Destruction:

it took the scientists by surprise that the CFCs that they used to call as "miracle compounds" are making a kind of hole in our ozone blanket but that was the time when industries were kind of addicted using these compounds and their total absence meant the closure of millions of factories and companies running across the globe.this could even lead the world to face a crisis. But on the other hand a much needed blanket of ozone was being destroyed. This lead the scientists to research about the action of CFCs on ozone.

The reaction is as follows:

The chlorofluorocarbons are actually chlorine- and fluorine-containing compounds which readily react with ozone to form chlorine monoxide which further reacts with ozone to form chlorine back and and the chain of depletion continues. A single molecule of chlorine can destroy over one hundred thousand molecules of ozone. If we think that these CFCs continue we can easily see the ozone vanishing very soon.

However the modern day people are concerned about this which lead to the formation of MONTREAL PROTOCOL. This protocol aims to banish most of the CFCs from the surface to ensure a healthy and safe planet.

Answer 2

Ozone depletion is the process where ozone holes are created in the ozone layer. It is caused due to the action of chloro-floro-carbons on the ozone molecule to break it down to oxygen.