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25 years ago in May 1985, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) officially discovered the now controversial hole in Earth's ozone layer. The feature, which has expanded and contracted since its discovery, has been responsible for large losses of ozone in Earth's atmosphere over Antarctica.The discovery of the ozone hole alerted the world to a major environmental threat as the accumulation of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) used in 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.In good news, the ozone layer depletion seems to be on a dramatic upswing and levels of ozone are expected to continue to reach safer levels in the coming decades.
Research now being conducted by the University of Missouri's Atmospheric Science department, indicates that atmospheric blocking, a general stagnation in the weather pattern, such as never-ending heat waves or winter storms like we saw this past summer and winter, can and will have a significant impact on local agriculture, business and the environment. And wait, hold your breath, here it comes... yup, as expected, such weather patterns could be increasing due to global warming!
The goal of the research is to ultimately help forecasters better predict blocking and warn people in the path of severe weather of these potential long-lasting, life-impacting events, and in conducting the research, they are trying to see if increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the resulting atmospheric warming will affect the onset and duration of future blocking occurrences.
Blocking usually results when a powerful, high-pressure area gets stuck in one place and, because they cover a large area, fronts behind them are blocked. It is anticipated that in a warmer world, blocking events will be more numerous and longer-lived, therefore resulting in an environment with more storms. Areas most impacted would be North America, Europe and Asia.
Check out this video shot during take off from New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) on the way to Salt Lake Cit (SLC) via Dallas/Ft. Worth (DFW) on Friday afternoon, January 22. It was a perfect flying day with a perfect view -- an exemplary perspective of a Big Apple Atmosphere!
The video is kind of long (just under 6 minutes), so I posted a few cool points below (indicated by minute) if you wish to not watch the whole thing.
00.00 Take off from LGA / 02:15 Sunshine over New York / 03:00 A beautiful horizon / 03:45 Here comes the city / 04:15 View of Central Park / 04:25 Looking downtown / 04:50 Over the Hudson River / 05:10 The island of Manhattan
So... does this remind anyone of Sully’s flight path???
25 years ago in May 1985, scientists from the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) officially discovered the now controversial hole in Earth's ozone layer. The feature, which has expanded and contracted since its discovery, has been responsible for large losses of ozone in Earth's atmosphere over Antarctica.
