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    Question ID:   10555         Current Version: 1
Question: How is ozone formed in the atmosphere?
Category: Science > Environment & Ecology
Keywords: atmosphere, form, ozone
Type: how
Rating:(0 ratings)    Views: 434    Discussions: 0   In Watch Lists: 1  

 
    Answer:

Ozone is formed throughout the atmosphere in multistep chemical processes that require sunlight. In the stratosphere, the process begins with an oxygen molecule (O2) being broken apart by ultraviolet radiation from
the Sun. In the lower atmosphere (troposphere), ozone is formed in a different set of chemical reactions
involving hydrocarbons and nitrogen-containing gases.

Stratospheric Ozone

Stratospheric ozone is naturally formed in chemical reactions involving ultraviolet sunlight and oxygen molecules, which make up 21% of the atmosphere. In the first step, sunlight breaks apart one oxygen molecule (O2) to produce two oxygen atoms (2 O). In the second step, each atom combines with an oxygen molecule to produce an ozone molecule (O3). These reactions occur continually wherever ultraviolet sunlight is present in the stratosphere. As a result, the greatest ozone production occurs in the tropical stratosphere.

The production of stratospheric ozone is balanced by its destruction in chemical reactions. Ozone reacts continually with a wide variety of natural and human-produced chemicals in the stratosphere. In each reaction, an ozone molecule is lost and other chemical compounds are produced. Important reactive gases that destroy ozone
are those containing chlorine and bromine.

Some stratospheric ozone is transported down into the troposphere and can influence ozone amounts at Earth's surface, particularly in remote, unpolluted regions of the globe.

Tropospheric Ozone

Near Earth's surface, ozone is produced in chemical reactions involving naturally occurring gases and gases from pollution sources. Production reactions primarily involve hydrocarbon and nitrogen oxide gases and require sunlight. Fossil fuel combustion is a primary pollution source for tropospheric ozone production. The surface production of ozone does not significantly contribute to the abundance of stratospheric ozone. The amount of surface ozone is too small in comparison, and the transport of surface air to the stratosphere is not effective enough. As in the stratosphere, ozone in the troposphere is destroyed in naturally occurring chemical
reactions and in reactions involving human-produced chemicals. Tropospheric ozone can also be destroyed when ozone reacts with a variety of surfaces, such as those of soils and plants.

Balance of Chemical Processes

Ozone abundances in the stratosphere and troposphere are determined by the balance between chemical processes that produce ozone and processes that destroy ozone. The balance is determined by the amounts of reacting gases and how the rate or effectiveness of the various reactions varies with sunlight intensity, location in the atmosphere, temperature, and other factors. As atmospheric conditions change to favor ozone-producing reactions in a certain location, ozone abundances will increase. Similarly, if conditions change to favor reactions that destroy ozone, abundances will decrease. The balance of production and loss reactions combined with atmospheric air motions determines the global distribution of ozone on time scales of days to many months. Global ozone has decreased in the last decades because the amounts of reactive gases containing chlorine and bromine have increased in the stratosphere.

Source: NOAA

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