Human Health and Arctic Ozone Depletion

Abstract

For most of the past decade, stratospheric ozone loss has been observed during the winter/spring months over Arctic environments. On occasion, losses of up to 40% in Scandinavia and Siberia have been recorded during this time. In Canada, sporadic losses of 10 to 20% or more have been reported. In Alaska, Point Barrow (71.3°N) showed a daily total ozone value for March 1997 about 6% below the previous 10-year average. Again, on 17–18 March 1999, Barrow showed record low ozone values for that location for a March day. Since 1971 there has been a downward trend in stratospheric ozone during March across the Arctic. More recently, the winter of 1999–2000 has shown the largest local ozone losses yet seen in the Arctic with over 60% observed in the altitude range of 18 to 20 km. Integrated total ozone column losses amounted to 20 to 25% less ozone than previously observed [see the following URL from the Third European Stratospheric Experiment on Ozone (THESEO) for more information: http://europa.eu.int/comm/research/envsc/theseo.html].