AP®︎ Environmental Science: Topic 9.1 Flashcards

A molecule of three oxygen atoms; protective in the stratosphere but a harmful pollutant near the ground

The broad region mostly 15–35 km above Earth whose ozone absorbs much UV-B and, together with oxygen, essentially all UV-C, protecting life and helping make life on land possible

Stratospheric ozone protects life by absorbing ultraviolet radiation; tropospheric, or ground-level, ozone is a harmful secondary pollutant in photochemical smog

The longest-wavelength ultraviolet radiation, transmitted through the atmosphere relatively easily

Biologically damaging ultraviolet radiation partly absorbed by stratospheric ozone; ozone depletion allows more of it to reach Earth’s surface

The shortest-wavelength, highest-energy ultraviolet radiation, essentially all of which is absorbed by atmospheric oxygen and ozone

A reduction in protective stratospheric ozone that allows more UV-B to reach the surface, increasing risks such as skin cancer and cataracts

Stable synthetic compounds containing carbon, chlorine, and fluorine that reach the stratosphere, where ultraviolet radiation releases ozone-destroying chlorine

Cl• reacts with O₃, is regenerated through later reactions, and repeatedly catalyzes the net conversion O₃ + O → 2O₂.

Severe seasonal thinning—not a literal absence—of stratospheric ozone over Antarctica, strongest during Southern Hemisphere spring