Greenhouse and Ozone Layer, Do You Know the Difference?

While the ground absorbs the visible radiation, the greenhouse gases in the troposphere absorb the infrared radiation, the ozone layer in the stratosphere reflects, ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Ozone, O3, is composed of three oxygen atoms joined together to make a single molecule. This molecule is specially designed to absorb a different kind of radiation again, ultra violet (UV) radiation. Absorbing UV radiation is of great importance to us humans as it is the main cause of skin cancers.

So how does the hole in the ozone layer differ from the greenhouse effect? The biggest difference is that the hole in the ozone layer is caused by O3 molecules disappearing, while the green house effect is caused by the amount of carbon dioxide molecules increasing in the atmosphere.

Another difference is that the hole in the Ozone layer is a good news story! The hole in the ozone layer was chiefly caused by another group of chemicals called “organohalgen compounds” especially “chlorofluorocarbons” (CFCs). These chemicals were once found in everything from spray cans to refrigerator and air-conditioning gas. One highly stable CFC gas molecule could break down at least 100,000 ozone molecules.

So to stop a massive increase in sun cancer around the world, governments acted. In 1987 an international treaty was signed, the Montreal Protocol, which limited CFC production, before banning it all together in 1996. Since that date, scientists have reported the rate of decline in the layer has slowed dramatically, and some have even reported the hole is repairing itself.

So now you have no excuse to confuse the two phenomena! The difference between the hole in the ozone layer and the green house effect is first is being caused by a disappearing ozone gas, and the second is being caused by to much carbon dioxide!

While the ground absorbs the visible radiation, the greenhouse gases absorb the infrared radiation in the troposphere, the ozone layer reflects a different type of radiation, ultraviolet (UV) radiation.

Troposphere (Greenhouse Layer) – 0 to 11km above ground

Stratosphere (Ozone Layer) – 11 -50km above ground