British Sign Language Glossaries of Curriculum Terms

BSL Environmental Science Glossary - Ozone depletion definition

Definition: In the stratosphere, there is a layer of ozone. This layer is important because it prevents most of the high-energy ultraviolet solar radiation from the Sun from reaching the Earth's surface. When chlorine and bromine atoms or molecules encounter the ozone (O₃ in the stratosphere), they will destroy the ozone molecules. The ozone layer will be destroyed. One chlorine atom can destroy over 100,000 ozone molecules, meaning the O₃ will be removed or depleted from the stratosphere.