Ozone Layer
The ozone layer is found high up in the atmosphere, in a region called the stratosphere, between 19 and 30 kilometres (km) above the ground. Ozone here is made when energy from the Sun causes oxygen atoms to split apart.
Most of the ozone in the stratosphere is formed over the equator, where the strength of the sunshine is greatest. It is then transported by winds towards the North and South Poles. Hence, the highest amounts of ozone in the ozone layer usually occur at high latitudes, over Northern Europe, Russia and Canada.
In the 1970s, scientists discovered that CFCs could destroy ozone in the ozone layer. CFCs had been used in refrigeration, aerosols and fire extinguishers since the 1930s, so this posed a major problem.
Print Topic
Websites
Other topics
Technical Page
• Schools Database
• Environment Canada
• Introduction
• Causes
• CFCs
• Doing Our Bit
• Human Health
• Impacts
• Ozone
• Ozone Hole
• Ozone Layer
• Protection
• UV Radiation