Destruction of greenhouse gases over tropical Atlantic

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This image is of the Cape Verde Atmospheric Observatory where instruments for monitoring the atmosphere are stationed. It has been operating for a year and the first years data have shown vast ozone destruction across the tropical Atlantic. The instr ...
This image is of the Cape Verde Atmospheric Observatory, where instruments for monitoring the atmosphere are stationed. It has been operating for a year and the first year's data have shown vast ozone destruction across the tropical Atlantic. The instruments have also detected the reason for this loss. Credit: Dr Katie Read, University of York, UK.

Large amounts of ozone – around 50% more than predicted by the world's state-of-the-art climate models – are being destroyed in the lower atmosphere over the tropical Atlantic Ocean. Published today (26th June '08) in the scientific journal, Nature, this startling discovery was made by a team of scientists from the UK's National Centre for Atmospheric Science and Universities of York and Leeds. It has particular significance because ozone in the lower atmosphere acts as a greenhouse gas and its destruction also leads to the removal of the third most abundant greenhouse gas; methane.


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