03 General remarks (sci.environment)
Description
This article is from the Ozone Depletion FAQ, by Robert Parson rparson@spot.colorado.edu with numerous contributions by others.
03 General remarks (sci.environment)
This is the first of four FAQ files dealing with stratospheric ozone
depletion. This part deals with basic scientific questions about the
ozone layer, and serves as an introduction to the remaining parts which
are more specialized. Part II deals with sources of stratospheric
chlorine and bromine, part III with the Antarctic Ozone Hole, and Part
IV with the properties and effects of ultraviolet radiation. The later
parts are mostly independent of each other, but they all refer back.
to Part I. I emphasize physical and chemical mechanisms
rather than biological effects, although I make a few remarks about
the latter in part IV. I have little to say about legal and policy
issues other than a very brief summary at the end of part I.
The overall approach I take is conservative. I concentrate on what
is known and on most probable, rather than worst-case, scenarios.
For example, I have relatively little to say about the effects
of UV radiation on terrestrial plants - this does not mean that the
effects are small, it means that they are as yet not well
quantified (and moreover, I am not well qualified to interpret the
literature.) Policy decisions must take into account not only the
most probable scenario, but also a range of less probable ones.
There have been surprises, mostly unpleasant, in this field in the
past, and there are sure to be more in the future.
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