The signs of Antarctic ozone hole recovery

• Published in: Scientific Reports
• Main Authors: Kuttippurath, Jayanarayanan, Nair, Prijitha J.
• Other Authors: Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur), Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), National Centre for Earth Science Studies India (NCESS)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2017
• Subjects: [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-AO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics [physics.ao-ph]; Antarctic; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-01516812; https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-01516812/document; https://hal.sorbonne-universite.fr/hal-01516812/file/signs.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00722-7

International audience Absorption of solar radiation by stratospheric ozone affects atmospheric dynamics and chemistry, and sustains life on Earth by preventing harmful radiation from reaching the surface. Significant ozone losses due to increases in the abundances of ozone depleting substances (ODSs) were first observed in Antarctica in the 1980s. Losses deepened in following years but became nearly flat by around 2000, reflecting changes in global ODS emissions. Here we show robust evidence that Antarctic ozone has started to recover in both spring and summer, with a recovery signal identified in springtime ozone profile and total column measurements at 99% confidence for the first time. Continuing recovery is expected to impact the future climate of that region. Our results demonstrate that the Montreal Protocol has indeed begun to save the Antarctic ozone layer.