First Systematic Study on Ozone Over Tibet Plateau Accomplished in China

China has for the first time accomplished the study on atmospheric ozone and ultraviolet radiation over the Tibet Plateau, and in this regard Chinese scientists have also gained considerable progress.

The study project is co-developed by the Tibetan Scientific Research Institute of Highland Atmospheric Environment and Norwegian Bergen College. This is the first time for China to use the multi-wave prismatic visualiser and the materials obtained from global satellite of the Lhasa Station.

With reference to the newest relevant data both domestic and foreign, Chinese scientists analyzed the atmospheric ozone and ultraviolet radiation over the Tibet Plateau. They have achieved a number of results in the research of space-time distribution feature, of the total amount of atmospheric ozone, of effective ultraviolet radiation, over the Tibet Plateau and the major factor influencing ground creatures by effective ultraviolet radiation.

According to the experts, there is an obvious physical and chemical process in the increasing loss of ozone on the Plateau in the summer time. Although the loss is not as much as the "ozone hole" over the South Pole, it is yet an unusual phenomenon in the Northern Hemisphere. The reducing amount of the total ozone is much heavier than that of the other regions in China. However, experts also discover that during the period of 1996-99 there is no big change as to the annual average amount of ozone on the Tibet Plateau.

According to experts, ozone is a gas component in the air with an unusual smell. Although it is rare in the air, it is of vital importance to the life of human beings and creatures. Ozone is like a protective umbrella, warding off 99% of the ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Without the protection of ozone layer, creatures on the earth would have died in large number.



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