Earth Science Current Events

Current earth science events are being talked about by different organizations around the world. Current news about earth science deals with ozone layer depletion. Below are some of the causes and effects of such occurrence. First, we must know the meaning of earth science.

Earth science is a branch of science that relates to the study of structure, phenomena and origin of out planet. It is also an all-embracing term for the field of sciences that are related to the study of the universe and the earth makes it have a wider scope. Earth science is also called Geosciences, Geoscience and Earth Sciences.

Earth science current events deal with the possible effects of environmental phenomena. For example, the depletion of ozone layer is considered as a major dilemma that the earth is undergoing right now. This depletion of the earth’s ozone layer captured the attention of the world during the late 1970s. Since then, many researches and discussions are carried out to find out the causes and possible effects of the said occurrence. There are also a lot of studies that are focused into finding the possible solutions for these current earth science events.

Causes of Ozone Depletion – The cause of this phenomenon is the increase of the level of the free radicals in the atmosphere such as nitric oxide radicals, hydroxyl radicals, bromine and atomic chlorine. The main cause of the ozone’s depletion in the atmosphere is the CFCs or the chlorofluorocarbons. The said compounds are stable in the earth’s surface but when they are released in the atmosphere, they tend to break down and release “free chlorine atom”.

Possible Effects of Ozone Depletion – Since the ozone layer is our protection against the harmful rays of the sun, it is very obvious that ozone depletion will lead to no protection against the ultraviolet rays. Effects include having numerous types of skin cancers including squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. Increased incidents of cortical cataracts can also happen.