Department of Energy Argonne National Laboratory Office of Science NEWTON's Homepage NEWTON's Homepage
NEWTON, Ask A Scientist!
NEWTON Home Page NEWTON Teachers Visit Our Archives Ask A Question How To Ask A Question Question of the Week Our Expert Scientists Volunteer at NEWTON! Frequently Asked Questions Referencing NEWTON About NEWTON About Ask A Scientist Education At Argonne Ozone at South Pole 
Name: Jing
Status: Other
Age: N/A
Location: N/A
Country: N/A
Date: N/A
Question:
Why was the ozone destroyed in the Antarctic first?


Replies:
The Antarctic has conditions that are not found anywhere else to the same degree and are good for destroying ozone. During the Antarctic winter and spring a belt of winds blows around the continent and keeps the air in one place and prevents air from warmer climates from mixing in. Because Antarctica is land, the extremely cold temperatures needed to form the special kinds of clouds that help to destroy the ozone are found there. These two factors are believed to be the main reason why ozone depletion is worst in Antarctica.

Marc Fernau


Click here to return to the Environmental Science

NEWTON is an electronic community for Science, Math, and Computer Science K-12 Educators, sponsored and operated by Argonne National Laboratory's Educational Programs, Andrew Skipor, Ph.D., Head of Educational Programs.

For assistance with NEWTON contact a System Operator (help@newton.dep.anl.gov), or at Argonne's Educational Programs

NEWTON AND ASK A SCIENTIST
Educational Programs
Building 360
9700 S. Cass Ave.
Argonne, Illinois
60439-4845, USA
Update: June 2012
Weclome To Newton

Argonne National Laboratory