Physicists
have discovered that changes in the Earth's ozone layer due to climate change
will increase the amount of ultraviolet radiation hitting the tropics and Antarctica.
ScienceDaily (Sep. 16, 2009) —
Physicists at the University of Toronto have discovered that changes in the
Earth’s ozone layer due to climate change will reduce the amount of ultraviolet
(UV) radiation in northern high latitude regions such as Siberia, Scandinavia
and northern Canada. Other regions of the Earth, such as the tropics and
Antarctica, will instead face increasing levels of UV radiation.
“Climate change is an established
fact, but scientists are only just beginning to understand its regional
manifestations,” says Michaela Hegglin, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department
of Physics, and the lead author of the study published in Nature Geoscience
on September 6.
Using a sophisticated computer
model, Hegglin and U of T physicist Theodore Shepherd determined that
21st-century climate
change will alter atmospheric circulation, increasing the flux of ozone from
the upper to the lower atmosphere and shifting the distribution of ozone within
the upper atmosphere. The result will be a change in the amount of UV radiation reaching the
Earth’s surface which varies dramatically between regions: e.g. up to a 20 per cent increase in
UV radiation over southern high latitudes during spring and summer, and a nine
per cent decrease in UV radiation over northern high latitudes, by the end of
the century.
While the effects of increased UV
have been widely studied because of the problem of ozone depletion, decreased UV could have adverse
effects too, e.g. on vitamin D production for people in regions with limited
sunlight such as the northern high latitudes.
“Both human and ecosystem health are
affected by air quality and by UV radiation,” says Shepherd. “While there has
been much research on the impact of climate change on air quality, our work
shows that this research needs to include the effect of changes in
stratospheric ozone. And while there has been much research on the impact of
ozone depletion on UV radiation and its impacts on human and ecosystem health,
the notion that climate change could also affect UV radiation has not
previously been considered. This adds to the list of potential impacts of
climate change, and is especially important for Canada as northern high
latitudes are particularly affected.”
The research was funded by the
Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences through the C-SPARC
project. The C-SPARC project is a national collaboration between Environment
Canada and several Canadian universities.
Adapted from materials provided by University
of Toronto.
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University of Toronto (2009,
September 16). Changes In Earth's Ozone Layer Predicted To Increase UV
Radiation In Tropics And Antarctica. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 10,
2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com
/releases/2009/09/090915113534.htm