Space Debris/Ozone da 1 debris disad 2
Download 165.07 Kb.
|
- Navigate this page:
- Ozone Link—Generic
Ozone—UQ LinkThe ozone will recover now if we don’t do the plan Pete Spotts, March 31, 2009, Staff Reporter for Christian Science Monitor, As rocket launches increase, ozone layer could feel the heat, The Christian Science Monitor. All Rights Reserved. Terms under which this service is provided to you. Privacy Policy. Just when it looks as though people could breath a sigh of relief over the hole in the stratospheric ozone over Antarctica -- it's expected to heal by 2050 -- scientists are raising a new ozone-related concern: rocket launches. That's right. Rocket launches. The idea is not as wiggy as it may sound. As early as 1974, some scientists had noted that the space shuttle -- still a gleam in NASA's eye at the time -- would be a source of chlorine emissions as it climbed through the atmosphere and passed through the stratosphere. Chlorine-based compounds called chlorflorocarbons have been the main driver behind the loss of ozone in a high-altitude layer of the atmosphere called the stratosphere. They've been banned via the 1987 Montreal Protocol, along with other ozone-trashing compounds. Indeed, some people have argued -- wrongly -- that the space shuttles have been responsible for the ozone hole. For a team led by Martin Ross at the Aerospace Corporation in Los Angeles, it's not a question of today's launches being a problem. In a new research paper that appears in the on-line issue of the journal Astropolitics, he and his colleagues note that today's launch and reentry emissions are far too small to have a significant effect. Down the road, however, the picture could change, especially if aerospace-industry launch projections pan out. The team's pitch: Don't wait until then to figure out if this will be an issue. That could lead to a mishmash of regulations that could choke off the launch business. Instead, gather the data now in a rigorous, transparent way so that if emissions regulations are required in the future, they won't be cobbled together at the last minute with little scientific basis for designing them. "Currently we've got launch activity that's really ramping up," says Darian Toohey, an atmospheric chemist at the University of Colorado at Boulder and a member of the research team. Projections that aerospace companies are trotting out in Powerpoint slides at industry meetings point to a launch rate by 2030 or 2040 that is three to 10 times higher than it is today. At the same time, scientists' ability to gather and analyze samples from rocket exhaust plumes has improved dramatically, giving them an ability to more-thoroughly study the issue. Some of that sampling already has taken place, thanks to NASA's cooperation, Dr. Toohey says during a phone chat. That's given the team an opportunity to take an initial crack at estimating what sort of effect higher launch rates could have on stratospheric ozone. No surprise, but depending on worldwide launch rates, heft of the payloads, fuels used, and other factors, a decline in ozone loss reverses around 2028 and loss begins to skyrocket if countries triple their launch rates every 10 years. The increase in ozone loss comes later and destruction rises somewhat less rapidly if launch rates only double every 10 years. Ozone Link—GenericRocket launches destroy the ozoneMinard 9 (Anne Minard, National Geographic News, April 14, 2009 Rocket Launches Damage Ozone Layer, Study Says, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/090414-rockets-ozone_2.html Plumes from rocket launches could be the world's next worrisome emissions, according to a new study that says solid-fuel rockets damage the ozone layer, allowing more harmful solar rays to reach Earth. Thanks to international laws, ozone-depleting chemicals such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and methyl bromide have been slowly fading from the atmosphere. But when solid-fuel rockets launch, they release chlorine gas directly into the stratosphere, where the chlorine reacts with oxygen to form ozone-destroying chlorine oxides. Increased international space launches and the potential commercial space travel boom could mean that rockets will soon emerge as the worst offenders in terms of ozone depletion, according to the study, published in the March issue of the journal Astropolitics. Rocket Launches will polute the ozone Atkinson 9 NANCY on APRIL 2, science journalist who writes mainly about space exploration and astronomy. She is the Senior Editor and writer for Universe Today, the project manager for the 365 Days of Astronomy podcast, and part of the production team for Astronomy Cast. She also has articles published on Wired.com, Space.com, NASA’s Astrobiology Magazine, Space Times Magazine, and several newspapers in the Midwest. Will Rocket Launches Deplete the Ozone?, http://www.universetoday.com/28412/will-rocket-launches-deplete-the-ozone/ A new study predicts that Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer will suffer significant damage from future unregulated rocket launches. The study provides a market analysis for estimating future ozone layer depletion based on the expected growth of the space industry and known impacts of rocket launches. The increase in launches could cause ozone depletion that eventually could exceed ozone losses from CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) which were banned in the 1980′s. “As the rocket launch market grows, so will ozone-destroying rocket emissions,” said Professor Darin Toohey of CU-Boulder’s atmospheric and oceanic sciences department, a member of the study. “If left unregulated, rocket launches by the year 2050 could result in more ozone destruction than was ever realized by CFCs.” The study says more research should be done on how different rockets affect the ozone before imposing stricter regulations on chemicals used in rocket fuels. Current global rocket launches deplete the ozone layer by no more than a few hundredths of 1 percent annually, said Toohey. But as the space industry grows and other ozone-depleting chemicals decline in the Earth’s stratosphere, the issue of ozone depletion from rocket launches is expected to move to the forefront. Rockets around the world use a variety of propellants, including solids, liquids and hybrids. Martin Ross, lead author of the study from The Aerospace Corporation Ross said while little is currently known about how they compare to each other with respect to the ozone loss they cause, new studies are needed to provide the parameters required to guide possible regulation of both commercial and government rocket launches in the future. Rocket emissions will destroy the ozone Science Daily 9 Martin Ross; Darin Toohey; Manfred Peinemann; Patrick Ross. Limits on the Space Launch Market Related to Stratospheric Ozone Depletion. Astropolitics, 2009; Rocket Launches May Need Regulation To Prevent Ozone Depletion, Says Study, http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/m/multistage_rocket.htm Future ozone losses from unregulated rocket launches will eventually exceed ozone losses due to chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which stimulated the 1987 Montreal Protocol banning ozone-depleting chemicals, said Martin Ross, chief study author from The Aerospace Corporation in Los Angeles. The study, which includes the University of Colorado at Boulder and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, provides a market analysis for estimating future ozone layer depletion based on the expected growth of the space industry and known impacts of rocket launches. "As the rocket launch market grows, so will ozone-destroying rocket emissions," said Professor Darin Toohey of CU-Boulder's atmospheric and oceanic sciences department. "If left unregulated, rocket launches by the year 2050 could result in more ozone destruction than was ever realized by CFCs." Directory: file -> view view -> Western Europe after wwii view -> Author study: paul fleischman view -> Qpa1 7ela study Guide view -> Arctic Oil/Gas Neg view -> November 1970 Approximately 150,000-500,000 deaths Bhola Cyclone Bangladesh view -> Grade Level: 6 Unit of Study: Caribbean glce view -> Citation: Duffield, Katy view -> Table of Contents Lesson # view -> Chinese Wind Energy Disad Download 165.07 Kb. Share with your friends:
|