The ozone layer was discovered in 1913 by the French physicists Charles Fabry and Henri Buisson
The photochemical mechanisms that give rise to the ozone layer were discovered by the British physicist Sidney Chapman in 1930
Although the concentration of the ozone in the ozone layer is very small, it is vitally important to life because it absorbs biologically harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation coming from the sun
UV-B radiation can be harmful to the skin and is the main cause of sunburn; excessive exposure can also cause genetic damage, resulting in problems such as skin cancer.
The ozone layer is higher in altitude in the tropics, and lower in altitude in the extratropics, especially in the polar regions. This altitude variation of ozone results from the slow
The ozone layer can be depleted by free radical catalysts, including nitric oxide (NO), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydroxyl (OH), atomic chlorine (Cl), and atomic bromine (Br). While there are natural sources for all of these species, the concentrations of chlorine and bromine have increased markedly in recent years due to the release of large quantities of man-made organohalogen compounds, especially chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and bromofluorocarbons. These highly stable compounds are capable of surviving the rise to the stratosphere, [continues]
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