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Water vapor does not "destroy" the ozone layer. It has a small part to play. By far the greatest damage is caused by chlorofluorocarbons.

There are two methods by which water vapor serves to reduce ozone concentration in the ozone layer.

  1. Ozone is formed in part by N2O (nitrous oxide) dropping an oxygen atom onto an oxygen molecule. If the N2O encounters water first, it simply becomes NOx, and the ozone that could have been formed wasn't. Rate constant is very high.
  2. Ozone decays in the presence of water via essentially formation of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide). Rate constant is fairly low, but the stuff just hangs around "up there"...

Note that excesses of NOx (nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide) are found in the ozone holes... and polar clouds are spotted during periods where the ozone hole is larger.

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