Underground Nuclear Explosions Deteriorate The Ozone LayerAugust 16, 2002Russian scientists have found one more cause of depletion of the ozone layer. They think that abyssal gases can go to the surface and reach stratosphere, deteriorating the ozone shield. Underground nuclear explosions enforce this process. A geologist Boris Golubov of the Institute of Geosphere Dynamics RAS and a climatologist Grigoriy Kruchenitsky of Central Aerology Observatory are authors of this hypothesis. Winter and spring are the most common seasons for ozone holes above Yakutia. The unique climatic conditions are favourable for a deep gas blast to reach stratosphere without drifting and dissipating. For example, a gas cloud 10 meters in diameter rises as a whole. Perhaps such clouds work as a lift for ozone-deteriorating compounds. It is known that the Earth crust is divided into blocks with fractures between them. Hydrogen, methane and radioactive gases can go through the fractures to the Earth surface. According to Vladimir Syvorotkin of Moscow State University, at certain climatic conditions the gases can rise vertically up and reach the ozone layer. This gaseous blowing of the atmosphere is most probable in the seismic areas with big active fractures. But Yakutia is one of the seismically calm places on the Earth. So why gases? May be they penetrating through diamond pipes, underground nuclear explosions enforcing the deep gas leakage. It is no doubt that an underground nuclear explosion is not a single-time process. It causes prolonged instability in the crust changing geological parameters of the territory. Kruchenitsky and his colleagues of Russian Meteorology Service have charted out a map of ozone holes above the Russian territory for several years. Golubov has combined the map with a pattern of underground nuclear explosions. They found that ozone holes are strictly above the places of the explosions. In 1995 and 1997 climatologists observed especially large ozone holes above Eastern Siberia. Strictly under the holes there are two diamond deposits, Udachnoe and Sredne-Botuobinskoe, where eight explosions were made in 1980ies. These explosions were intended to build a wall of the open pit. Four explosions were made for deep seismic exploring of the Earth. Altogether, from 1964 to 1990, there were 126 non-military explosions in the Ural, near the Caspian Sea, in Ukraine, Evenkia and Yakutia. That means that people themselves created a powerful source of abyssal gas blows into the atmosphere. Some of these gases are dangerous for the ozone layer. Zones of underground nuclear explosions keeps the activity for several years contaminating with radionuclides a nearby area of 7-10 km and producing aftershocks - micro-earthquakes, which are especially frequent in the first 2 or 3 months (up to 2,000 shocks) and can occur later on too. The researchers have shown a correlation between seismic events and the underground nuclear explosions in Yakutia. Because of prevailing west winds, the places of explosions affect the ozone shield of the nearby territories to the east of Yakutia - Far North, the Sea of Okhotsk and Canada. The researchers continue monitoring the situation. Informnauka (Informscience) Agency |
|||||||||||||||||||||
| Related Ozone Current Events and Ozone News Articles Nitrogen loss threatens desert plant life, study shows As the climate gets warmer, arid soils lose nitrogen as gas, reports a new Cornell study. That could lead to deserts with even less plant life than they sustain today, say the researchers. Researchers discover links between city walkability and air pollution exposure A new study compares neighborhoods' walkability (degree of ease for walking) with local levels of air pollution and finds that some neighborhoods might be good for walking, but have poor air quality. Interactions with aerosols boost warming potential of some gases For decades, climate scientists have worked to identify and measure key substances -- notably greenhouse gases and aerosol particles -- that affect Earth's climate. Report examines hidden costs of energy production and use A new report from the National Research Council examines and, when possible, estimates "hidden" costs of energy production and use -- such as the damage air pollution imposes on human health -- that are not reflected in market prices of coal, oil, other energy sources, or the electricity and gasoline produced from them. Air pollutants from abroad a growing concern, says new report Plumes of harmful air pollutants can be transported across oceans and continents -- from Asia to the United States and from the United States to Europe -- and have a negative impact on air quality far from their original sources, says a new report by the National Research Council. U.S. needs nearly $200 million more on climate-related health research A recent commentary suggests that the U.S. should spend roughly $197 million more than it currently does to research the impact of climate change on public health. Ozone layer depletion levelling off By merging more than a decade of atmospheric data from European satellites, scientists have compiled a homogeneous long-term ozone record that allows them to monitor total ozone trends on a global scale - and the findings look promising. TECNALIA presents innovative mobile robots which are autonomous and polyvalent TECNALIA Technological Corporation has introduced innovative robots at Euskotren's station in Atxuri (Bilbao) and which are mobile, multifunctional, collaborative, autonomous and polyvalent, suitable for a wide range of work from street cleaning and rubbish collection to accompanying elderly people. Portable and precise gas sensor could monitor pollution and detect disease In the air, it is a serious pollutant. In the body, it plays a role in heart rate, blood flow, nerve signals and immune function. University of Toronto study shows climate change will lead to less ultraviolet radiation over northern high latitudes Physicists at the University of Toronto have discovered that changes in the Earth's ozone layer due to climate change will reduce the amount of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in northern high latitude regions such as Siberia, Scandinavia and northern Canada. More Ozone Current Events and Ozone News Articles |
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||