25th Anniversary of the Discovery of Ozone Hole

by British Antarctic Survey on 14 May 2010 This week British Antarctic Survey (BAS) commemorates the 25th anniversary of one of its most dramatic scientific discoveries — the ozone hole.

In May 1985 reporting in Nature Joe Farman, Brian Gardiner and Jonathan Shanklin described their observations of large losses of ozone over Antarctica. In this week’s Nature Jonathan Shanklin reflects on how the discovery was made and what lessons were learnt.

As part of the anniversary commemorations Jonathan Shanklin appears alongside Nobel Prize winner Paul Crutzen and leading US scientists David Fahey and Susan Solomon at a special international symposium organised by Cambridge University on Friday 7 May. The event will be web cast live at Antarctic Ozone Hole: Then and Now on the website of the European Ozone Research Coordinating Unit

The discovery of the ozone hole alerted the world to the dramatic and major environmental threat. The accumulation of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems, and industrial solvents were found to deplete the protective layer of ozone that surrounds the Earth. Action by governments around the world led to the 1987 Montreal Protocol and its amendments, which ensured that production and consumption of CFCs, halons and carbon tetrachloride were phased out by 2000, and methyl chloroform by 2005. All members of the United Nations have now signed the Montreal Protocol.

Today, scientists predict that Antarctic ozone levels will return to their 1950s levels by about 2080.

Jonathan Shanklin said, “This discovery was a crucial reminder of the importance in investing in long-term monitoring, but perhaps the most startling lesson from the ozone hole is just how quickly our planet can change.”

To mark the occasion BAS has published a new public information leaflet, The Ozone Hole.