Polar Stratospheric Cloud, Kiruna, Sweden (IMAGE)

University of Maryland

Polar Stratospheric Cloud, Kiruna, Sweden

Caption

Stratospheric clouds above the Arctic, like those seen here over Kiruna, Sweden, provide ideal conditions for chemical reactions that transform chlorine to a form that depletes the Earth's protective ozone layer. New research shows that unless greenhouse gas emissions are reduced, climate patterns that favor the formation of such clouds will continue to accelerate ozone loss.

Credit

Ross Salawitch/UMD

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