In the Antarctic, the ozone hole is largest during which season?

In the Antarctic, the ozone hole is largest during which season?

• A. Summer
• B. Early Spring
• C. Autumn
• D. Winter

Answer: (B)

The biggest Antarctic ozone hole occurs in early spring because the story hinges on sunlight enabling ozone-destroying chemistry that builds up during the dark winter. In winter the polar vortex isolates air at high altitudes and the extreme cold forms polar stratospheric clouds, which convert chlorine from human-made compounds into reactive forms. When sunlight returns in early spring, those chlorine radicals are activated by UV light and drive rapid catalytic destruction of ozone, producing the most extensive depletion at that time. As spring turns to summer and temperatures rise, PSCs disappear and ozone begins to recover, so the hole is largest in early spring, not in winter, autumn, or summer.

The biggest Antarctic ozone hole occurs in early spring because the story hinges on sunlight enabling ozone-destroying chemistry that builds up during the dark winter. In winter the polar vortex isolates air at high altitudes and the extreme cold forms polar stratospheric clouds, which convert chlorine from human-made compounds into reactive forms. When sunlight returns in early spring, those chlorine radicals are activated by UV light and drive rapid catalytic destruction of ozone, producing the most extensive depletion at that time. As spring turns to summer and temperatures rise, PSCs disappear and ozone begins to recover, so the hole is largest in early spring, not in winter, autumn, or summer.