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Ozone Hole Recovery Could Reshape Southern Hemisphere Climate Change
 A
full recovery of the stratospheric ozone hole
could strongly modify climate change in the Southern Hemisphere
and possibly amplify warming of the Antarctic continent, report
scientists from NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory (ESRL)
in Boulder, CO, the Cooperative Institute for Research in
Environmental Sciences, and NASA.
The
authors used a NASA supercomputer model that included interactions
between the climate and stratospheric ozone chemistry to examine
how changes in the ozone hole influence climate and weather
near Earth's surface. As ozone levels recover,
the lower stratosphere over the polar region will absorb more
ultraviolet radiation from the sun. As a result, intense westerly
winds that block air masses from crossing into the continent's
interior would weaken, and Antarctica would no longer be isolated
from the warming patterns affecting the rest of the world.
The influence of a full stratospheric ozone recovery on seasonal
Southern Hemisphere climate will largely depend on how fast
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases increase.
While
average surface temperatures have been rising globally, the
interior surface of Antarctica has exhibited a unique cooling
trend during the Southern Hemisphere summer and fall, resulting
from stratospheric ozone depletion during spring.
The Montreal Protocol restricted production of ozone-depleting
substances, starting in 1987, and scientists predict the ozone
hole will recover completely by 2070.
Such
changes in large-scale circulation patterns may ultimately
have consequences for Australian and South American climate
during late spring and summer. Australia could experience
warmer and drier conditions, while areas in Argentina, Brazil,
Uruguay, and Paraguay, could get wetter.
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