Shows ozone distribution over Antarctica for the Southern spring months - October to December. The ozone layer protects the Earth's surface by absorbing life-threatening ultraviolet radiation. At the South Pole, atmospheric circulation patterns cause ozone-depleting chemicals to build up during the winter months. When the sun returns in the spring, clouds of ice crystals in the stratosphere help those chemicals to break down ozone molecules into oxygen atoms.

Data source: European Remote Sensing Satellite (ERS) Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment (GOME) data from European Space Agency (ESA), Deutsche Forschungzentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR)

Credit : Deutsche Forschunzentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt