As if we didn't have enough to worry about with a depleting ozone and buildup of greenhouse gases, now a recent study shows that there is a new ozone-eating gas on the rise.
These chemicals, referred to as "very short-lived substances" (VSLS), are both man-made and naturally occurring. Currently, they are not controlled by the United Nations Montreal Protocol, a treaty designed to protect the Ozone Layer, because in the past they have barely contributed to ozone depletion.
"But we have identified now that one of these chemicals is increasing rapidly and, if this increase is allowed to continue, it could offset some of the benefits to the Ozone Layer provided by the Montreal Protocol," study lead author Dr. Ryan Hossaini, from the University of Leeds, said in a statement.
The culprit in question is dichloromethane, a man-made VSLS used in a range of industrial processes. According to previous research, the ozone is now finally showing signs of recovery, however, dichloromethane could ruin any past progress.
"The presence of increasing dichloromethane will lead to uncertainty in our future predictions of ozone and climate," said co-author Martyn Chipperfield.
Normally, scientists pay more attention to chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which are longer-lived gases that eat away at the Earth's ozone. But now, VSLS are in the spotlight as this new study shows VSLS-driven ozone depletion is nearly four times more efficient at influencing climate than CFCs. This is because even though VSLS stay in the atmosphere for a shorter amount of time, they break down and destroy ozone in the lowermost part of the stratosphere, causing more of an impact.
"This is important, as a molecule of ozone lost in this region has a far larger impact on climate than a molecule destroyed at higher altitudes by longer-lived gases," Hossaini explained.
While VSLS from natural sources, such as seaweed, account for around 90 percent of the total ozone loss caused by VSLS in the lower stratosphere, now the Earth has to deal with man-made VSLS compounds. This added pressure is only expected to increase in the near future due to manufacturing processes.
While researchers are unclear as to what's driving the increase in dichloromethane, this study shows just how fragile our ozone is and highlights the need to develop more eco-friendly manufacturing methods.
The findings were published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
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