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The giant research balloon was launched on Sept.1, from Vanscoy, Saskatchewan. Click to enlarge.
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On September 1, scientists from Environment Canada and their partners, the Canadian Space Agency, the University of Toronto, York University and the University of Waterloo launched a giant research balloon in an intensive study of the ozone layer over Canada.
The giant balloon, which stands as tall as a 25-story building, will carry an instrument package weighing over one half tonne nearly 40 km up into the atmosphere. The balloon will pass through most of the ozone layer in the Earth's stratosphere as part of the MANTRA (Middle Atmosphere Nitrogen TRend Assessment) research project to collect information on the effects of industrial chemicals and climate change on the ozone layer.
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A crane lifts the payload of scientific instruments into position. Click to enlarge.
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The payload on board the MANTRA balloon consists of 11 instruments, including an ozone-measuring instrument called MAESTRO (Measurements of Aerosol Extinction in the Stratospheric and Troposphere Retrieved by Occultation), which was developed in 2002 by Environment Canada. The original MAESTRO instrument was launched into space in 2003, on board a Canadian science satellite, and is now measuring the ozone layer from space. The balloon-borne version of MAESTRO, and some of the other instruments that are part of the balloon payload, will take readings as the satellite passes which will serve to verify the accuracy of the measurements made from the satellite.
The instrument packages will record the thickness of the ozone layer and measure CFCs and other ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere. Scientists will compare these readings to measurements recorded by balloon flights over Saskatchewan over the past 20 years.
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The giant balloon is filled with helium in preparation for the launch. Click to enlarge.
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This study will help researchers monitor the effectiveness of measures to reduce ozone-depleting chemicals undertaken since the Montreal Protocol, a global agreement to protect the ozone layer. The extent of global ozone depletion is a cause of concern among scientists, because it is still larger than predicted by the research that formed the scientific basis for the Montreal Protocol and its subsequent amendments.
If all countries comply with the terms of the Montreal Protocol, improvements in the ozone layer, and a recovery should occur around the year 2050. However, scientists are uncertain how the rising levels of greenhouse gases and other pollutants may affect ozone loss, particularly in the Polar Regions. The effects of climate change may cause ozone depletion over the earth's poles to become worse before it gets better.
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Fast Facts
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Unusual ozone thinning has been observed in the Canadian Arctic in seven of the last 13 years, and is most severe in the late winter and early spring. The most significant depletions occurred during the late 1990s, with ozone losses of up to 45 per cent in 1997.
Over the rest of Canada, the ozone layer remains thinner than normal and there is not strong evidence of recovery. Ozone values have decreased by an average of about six per cent since the late 1970s, with greater losses of about eight to 10 per cent in the springtime.
As a result of the thinning ozone layer, UV levels, which cause sunburn, have increased by an average of about seven per cent over southern Canada, and by 10 to 12 per cent in the springtime.
Only about half of the observed ozone loss can be definitely attributed to known industrial chemicals. The ozone layer is sensitive to changes in temperature, and scientists suspect that climate change may be the cause of the unexplained additional depletion.
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Related Sites
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Ozone Balloon Research
Stratospheric Ozone
Stratospheric Ozone Indicators
Ozone Day September 16, 2004
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