New platform in Antarctic installed to measure ozone layer and climate change

The first platform dedicated to measuring the ozone layer has been installed in the Chilean Antarctic, to study the impacts of the hole in the ozone layer on climate change in the region, it was announced Wednesday.

Raul Cordero, the project's lead researcher at the University of Santiago, stated in a press release that "the ozone layer is being destroyed by gases produced from September to December each year, favored by the low temperatures in the Antarctic stratosphere in this period."

This pioneering project will therefore track the effects of the "hole in the ozone layer" over ten years and its impact on climate change.

"When temperatures rise at the end of spring, the massive destruction of ozone stops, and ozone from other latitudes help to close the hole," explained Cordero.

The platform, loaded with atmospheric machinery, has been transported to Bahia Fildes, on the island of Rey Jorge in the South Shetlands, by a Chilean warship.

Scientists at the University of Santiago have been working on building and the placement of the platform. And "it will be operated remotely from the university," Cordero added.

A study in December 2015 found that "the hole in the ozone layer above the Antarctic has reached a record level. It stood at 10 million square kilometers in the last month of the year, more than double the average for this period." Enditem