New Ozone-Killing Gases Found in Atmosphere
Worried scientists said Sunday they had found four new ozone-destroying gases in the atmosphere, most likely put there by humans in the last 50-odd years despite a ban on these dangerous compounds.
Guest Host Annie Gaus tell us which country is making a play for the North Pole and why.
"Our research has shown four gases that were not around in the atmosphere at all until the 1960s, which suggests they are man-made," the team from Europe and Australia wrote in the journal Nature Geoscience.
"We don't know where the new gases are being emitted from, and this should be investigated."
Three of the gases are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) -- a group which includes chemicals traditionally found in air-conditioning, refrigerators and aerosol spray cans but banned under the Montreal Protocol.
The fourth is a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), part of a closely-related group of compounds which replaced CFCs but are being phased out.
http://news.discovery.com/earth/new-ozone-killing-gases-found-in-atmosphere-140310.htm#mkcpgn=fbsci1
Worried scientists said Sunday they had found four new ozone-destroying gases in the atmosphere, most likely put there by humans in the last 50-odd years despite a ban on these dangerous compounds.
Guest Host Annie Gaus tell us which country is making a play for the North Pole and why.
"Our research has shown four gases that were not around in the atmosphere at all until the 1960s, which suggests they are man-made," the team from Europe and Australia wrote in the journal Nature Geoscience.
"We don't know where the new gases are being emitted from, and this should be investigated."
Three of the gases are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) -- a group which includes chemicals traditionally found in air-conditioning, refrigerators and aerosol spray cans but banned under the Montreal Protocol.
The fourth is a hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC), part of a closely-related group of compounds which replaced CFCs but are being phased out.
http://news.discovery.com/earth/new-ozone-killing-gases-found-in-atmosphere-140310.htm#mkcpgn=fbsci1
