EESA11H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Ozone Depletion, Montreal Protocol, Polar Stratospheric Cloud
1 Aug 2018
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One chlorine atom can destroy many thousands of ozone molecules while bromine atoms can be even more destructive. Refrigerators used toxic gases like nh3, ch3cl and so2 as refrigerants and this caused many fatal accidents. Freon was invented as a cfc (chlorofluorocarbon) which is colourless, odourless, nonflammable, and noncorrosive. Because freon is non-toxic, it eliminated the danger posed by refrigerant leaks: the montreal protocol: objectives and factors for its success. Objectives: 46 nations signed a protocol to limit cfc production. Factors for success: this allowed more opportunities for companies to market new compounds for the same purpose, gaining more profit. Because of the ice-particle clouds, polar stratospheric clouds (pscs) that form during the tremendously cold winters. Pscs are trapped within a polar vortex, formed by strong wind currents circulating around the pole. Volcanic eruptions release huge quantities of so2 that reach the stratosphere as sulfuric acid.
