<blockquote>
<p>Would it be enough to simply vent ozone at point of manufacture, or would it be better released at the 10 km height?</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Neither. The right answer is not to do it at all. Surface level ozone is deemed to be a pollutant. It is highly irritating to people. Ten kilometers is still in the troposphere. Ozone in the troposphere rarely makes its way to the stratosphere. Ozone is highly reactive, and there is plenty of stuff in the troposphere that ozone can readily oxidize. If this was to be done (which is a bad idea), the ozone would have to be released into the stratosphere. Ozone concentration peaks at about twenty kilometers altitude.</p>
<p>Why not at all? There are three billion metric tons of ozone in the stratosphere. Think of how much effort augmenting that would take, and how much ozone depleting chemicals would be deposited into the stratosphere while doing so. Jet engine and rocket exhaust contain chemicals that deplete ozone.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-08-29T16:52:34.357Z
2020-08-29T16:52:34.357Z
David Hammen
<p>The ozone layer has been weakened by humans over the last century, but is slowly recovering.  Can humanity help undo the damage faster by manufacturing and releasing ozone?</p>
<p>Would it be enough to simply vent ozone at point of manufacture, or would it be better released at the 10 km height?</p>
<p>Would the latitude of release have an effect?   IE, would ozone release be faster/more effective at the poles?</p>
<hr />
<p>Inspired by <a href="https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/20132/how-does-the-ozone-layer-stay-in-place">how does the ozone layer &quot;stay in place&quot;?</a> which says (paraphrased) &quot;the ozone layer is 10km thick at height which would be 3mm thick at sea level&quot;</p>
<p>and by <a href="https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/4529/has-a-reduction-in-car-use-ever-had-an-effect-on-the-ozone-layer">Has a reduction in car use ever had an effect on the ozone layer?</a> which suggests total recovery is at least 30 years away for mid latitudes and longer for the antarctic hole.</p>

<human-influence><ozone>
Can humanity help reinforce the ozone layer?
Criggie
# Can humanity help reinforce the ozone layer?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2020-08-29)

The ozone layer has been weakened by humans over the last century, but is slowly recovering. Can humanity help undo the damage faster by manufacturing and releasing ozone?

Would it be enough to simply vent ozone at point of manufacture, or would it be better released at the 10 km height?

Would the latitude of release have an effect? IE, would ozone release be faster/more effective at the poles?

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Inspired by [how does the ozone layer "stay in place"?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/20132/how-does-the-ozone-layer-stay-in-place) which says (paraphrased) "the ozone layer is 10km thick at height which would be 3mm thick at sea level"

and by [Has a reduction in car use ever had an effect on the ozone layer?](https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/4529/has-a-reduction-in-car-use-ever-had-an-effect-on-the-ozone-layer) which suggests total recovery is at least 30 years away for mid latitudes and longer for the antarctic hole.

**Tags:** human-influence, ozone


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2020-08-29. Score: 2

> Would it be enough to simply vent ozone at point of manufacture, or would it be better released at the 10 km height?

Neither. The right answer is not to do it at all. Surface level ozone is deemed to be a pollutant. It is highly irritating to people. Ten kilometers is still in the troposphere. Ozone in the troposphere rarely makes its way to the stratosphere. Ozone is highly reactive, and there is plenty of stuff in the troposphere that ozone can readily oxidize. If this was to be done (which is a bad idea), the ozone would have to be released into the stratosphere. Ozone concentration peaks at about twenty kilometers altitude.

Why not at all? There are three billion metric tons of ozone in the stratosphere. Think of how much effort augmenting that would take, and how much ozone depleting chemicals would be deposited into the stratosphere while doing so. Jet engine and rocket exhaust contain chemicals that deplete ozone.


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