What if the ozone layer completely disappeared?
While it isn't quite the
Environmental cause celeb that it once was, the condition of the ozone layer and the status of the hole within it should remain a concern
for all of us. After all, without it we wouldn't survive on this planet. But, why is that?
What is the ozone layer? And what does it do? And what would happen if it ever disappeared?
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Essentially the ozone layer is a crucial section of Earth's stratosphere that absorbs most of the sun's dangerous radiation.
The ozone part relates to a gas that's created by the radiation itself which, as part of an ongoing
chemical process, envelops us on Earth - allowing us to feel pleasant warmness from our central star
rather than horrific burning. All in all, it's a pretty swell arrangement, except that through a series of poor choices
humanity has caused a sizeable hole to tear through this protective barrier. From September to December this ominous hole forms over most of Antarctica,
creating a void where over 50% of the ozone has completely vanished. The general amount of ozone in the stratosphere
has radically reduced since the late 1970s - mostly due to our ongoing use of ozone depleting substances - or
ODSes - including solvents and propellants found in everyday products like hairspray and deodorant. When these released into the atmosphere
They trigger a chemical process known as photodissociation,
which converts ozone back into regular oxygen, which simply doesn't provide the same shield?
It's not exactly new science, and we have at least looked to lessen the threat.
Tests began in the 1970s, with experts eventually convincing the world's nations to sign the Montreal Protocol in 1987.
It was an agreement to reduce our reliance on anti-ozone products worldwide, and to some degree
it has worked. Ozone depletion slowed, and it's now in the process of recovering with the most encouraging estimates saying that we should reach
Pre-1980 levels of ozone protection sometime between 2050 and 2070.
It looks like a long process but steps have been made in a positive direction.
But, what if there was nothing we could do? What if the ozone depletion was irreparable and the life enabling layer was gone?
How would our planet cope? For one thing, it wouldn't be green anymore.
UV light plays a major role in photosynthesis and in many major processes of a plant's life, including gene regulation and cell expansion.
However, plants are a lot like us and too much UV exposure can damage their DNA,
membranes and growth. A plant usually protects itself from the harmful effects of radiation via its photoreceptors, which sense the danger and induce
adaptation. But, without the ozone layer, plants would feel the full power of the sun's UV and quickly die.
This destruction of vital crops would not only damage food supplies,
but also severely limit the amount of oxygen in the air - sending the entire food chain into disarray.
Herbivores would be out of food, while everything else
would need to fight each other over dwindling meat supplies. As the plant eaters begin to die out, their bodies would more quickly
decompose in the harsh sunlight - meaning even scavenging meals would become more and more difficult.
Over time the burnt corpses would pile up and earth would adopt an all-new foul-smelling odor.
Of course, it would be the same rule for us as the animals, with any human who ventures outside getting horrifically
burnt. A sort of super sunburn would set in after less than five minutes of unfiltered radiation exposure,
literally blistering our skin within moments and causing small yet
unbelievably painful, gross and itchy pus-filled wounds all over our bodies.
Then would come the sunburn sickness, as victims experience extreme nausea dizziness and even hallucinations.
Should we be forced to stand outside for long enough,
it's even possible that our skin would burn away from our muscles and bones. All things considered,
we'd have to become a race of Hermits to stand any chance of survival, and
venturing outdoors would only ever be done if decked head to toe in reliable, protective gear - the sort that would only be accessible to a
small percentage of the population. As for where we'd actually live, the best bet would be
underground in nuclear standard bunkers.
We'd need a reliable stock of long-life food, bottled water and some way of exiting waste.
We'd also need oxygen tanks or some sort of oxygen supply, given that the Earth's atmosphere on the surface would undergo massive changes, and
breathable air could well become a thing of the past. In theory, such a setup is possible.
But only for anyone who's already prepared. And even then, it's a cramped and closed-off lifestyle
that'd be difficult to maintain. Back outside,
the dangers would only escalate. With increased exposure to the sun's radiation comes a
skyrocketing number of skin cancer sufferers. Even now, with the ozone layer in reasonably working order, spending too long under the Sun is dangerous.
Strip away the barrier between us and a full blast of solar energy, and the cancers develop faster and even more ruthlessly.
Blindness would become another widespread and devastating problem.
Even regular UV rays slowly damage our eyes every single day, but the threat is usually mitigated by the wearing of hats and sunglasses.
Nevertheless, over a lifetime the sun's rays can cause the protein in our eyes to clump together, which significantly
reduces the amount of light that reaches our retinas - which results in a visual impairment of some kind, often cataracts. Without the ozone layer,
It's another biological process that would inevitably speed up and become more severe,
stripping us of a key sense to further slash our prospects of survival. Clearly, the earth without the ozone layer is an inhospitable environment.
It's no longer a life supporting Haven, but a volatile unpredictable Hell.
But what if the planet itself? Surely it could withstand such a change without burning, blistering or boiling into nothingness?
While it's true that the Earth wouldn't disappear, it would undergo a dramatic transformation.
Carbon dioxide would proliferate the atmosphere and the oceans would release incredible amounts of water vapour.
Today, the seas absorb up to 50% of all man-made carbon dioxide - mostly via microscopic plankton.
But, as the plankton dies along with everything else - including land-based co2 stores
like swamps forests and woodlands - the absorption stops.
Carbon dioxide takes over, the planet heats up, its water boils off at least in part, and Earth devolves into something not unlike
Venus - which labor's under an atmosphere that's 96.5 percent co2 -
causing surface temperatures to reach upwards of
864 degrees Fahrenheit. The fact that some experts even believe that Venus once resembled Earth a long long time ago shows
just how important the ozone layer is to our planet's preservation. It's absolutely vital.
So, let's hope we can continue to patch it up for all our sakes.
What do you think?
Is there anything we missed?
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