io9: Ozone

Ultra-powerful, super short cosmic explosions could ravage life on Earth

Alasdair Wilkins — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 12:45:00 PDT

In the ultimate cosmic cataclysm, two ultra-dense bodies collide. For less than a second, incredible amounts of super-charged particles explode forth. These blasts could wipe out most life on Earth...and it's probably happened dozens of times already. More »

Giant ozone hole opens up over the Arctic for the first time

Alasdair Wilkins — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:32:58 PDT

A hole in Earth's protective ozone layer above the Antarctic has become an annual event for the last 25 years, greatly increasing the South Pole's exposure to ultraviolet rays. Now, the same thing is happening above the Arctic Circle. More »

Cut ozone in half using your naked body!

Esther Inglis-Arkell — Thu, 12 May 2011 08:30:00 PDT

Stop! Don't throw out those old, discarded skin cells! They may be protecting you from the deadly gas - ozone. Yes, they're only protecting you to a minute degree, but everyone should take every opportunity to put off dusting. More »

Arctic ozone levels dropped by as much as half in the past year

Charlie Jane Anders — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 09:30:00 PDT

Check out the stark difference between these two satellite images, taken on March 19, 2010 and March 19, 2011. The left image shows much more ozone (in red) over the Arctic than the right image. What's happened? More »

The Sunset Splendor of Ozone

Annalee Newitz — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:08:16 PDT

We Can Stop Global Warming — And Cook Ourselves Alive

Michael Reilly — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 13:30:00 PDT

Tweaking Earth's climate to combat global warming seems like a great idea. Giant mirrors or shades in space, artificially enhanced cloud cover, and regular injections of reflective sulfate particles into the stratosphere could all help cool the planet enough for us to ignore all of the CO2 we're pumping into the atmosphere. But a new study says one of the most popular ideas — the sulfate particles — would devastate the ozone layer, leaving us all to fry from exposure to ultraviolet radiation even as the planet cooled. More »