Ozone depletion and global warming: need for a chilean response

Abstract

The ozone research of the past few years has demonstrated that a loss of ozone has taken place, and that it can be attributed to chlorine from CFCs, and to bromine from halons. The Antarctic ozone hole is the most evident example of this depletion. Chile and Argentina are the closest countries to the Antarctic continent in the world. Even if all measures of control under the Montreal Protocol could be applied by all the nations of the world, the present atmospheric chlorine concentration (3 ppbv) would become two fold or three fold during the next century. Using a restricted model, neglecting heterogeneous chemistry, and assuming a chlorine concentration of 9 ppbv, a depletion of 4 to 12 % at mid- and high latitudes is predicted for the year 2050. Considering that the latest information agrees with the fact that the dilution effect is real and can affect as far as mid-latitudes of approximately 30 to 35°S latitude in the southern hemisphere, it is possible to infer that the Chilean environment is actually being damaged. It is essential for Chile to have access to the development of coordinated programmes conducted by Chilean investigators and funded by national and international agencies in order to involve the country in the global efforts to understand the variables involved in the ozone depletion problem. We must not forget that the most important part of the existing information is produced by the northern hemispheric researchers using instruments and devices located in their region most of the time. As a result, information for the Southern Hemisphere is frequently extrapolated from the Northern Hemispheric data.