...The series of images starts with 1974, before CFCs had begun to do significant damage to the ozone layer. Concentrations of ozone in the stratosphere over the United States and Canada are high. By 1994, the model predicts that ozone concentrations over the region have fallen from highs above 500 Dobson Units to about 400. By the simulated year 2009, the ozone layer over much of the United States has thinned to only 300 Dobson Units.
By 2020, the model predicts that an ozone “hole”—concentrations below 220 Dobson Units—forms over the Arctic as well as the Antarctic. By 2040, the ozone hole is global. The UV index in mid-latitude cities reaches 15 around noon on a clear summer day (10 is considered extreme today). By the end of the model run, global ozone drops to less than 110 Dobson Units, a 67 percent drop from the 1970s....
By 2020, the model predicts that an ozone “hole”—concentrations below 220 Dobson Units—forms over the Arctic as well as the Antarctic. By 2040, the ozone hole is global. The UV index in mid-latitude cities reaches 15 around noon on a clear summer day (10 is considered extreme today). By the end of the model run, global ozone drops to less than 110 Dobson Units, a 67 percent drop from the 1970s....
