Ozone (/ ˈ oʊ z oʊ n /) (or trioxygen) is an inorganic molecule with the chemical formula O 3.It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope O 2, breaking down in the lower atmosphere to O 2 ().Ozone is formed from dioxygen by the action of ultraviolet (UV) light and electrical discharges within the ...

Mar 20, 2025 · Ozone is 1.5 times as dense as oxygen; at −112 °C (−170 °F) it condenses to a dark blue liquid, which freezes at −251.4 °C (−420 °F).The gas decomposes rapidly at temperatures above 100 °C (212 °F) or, in the presence of certain catalysts, at room temperatures.Although it resembles oxygen in many respects, ozone is much more reactive; hence, it is an extremely powerful oxidizing ...

4 days ago · View the latest status of the ozone layer over the Antarctic, with a focus on the ozone hole. Satellite instruments monitor the ozone layer, and we use their data to create the images that depict the amount of ozone.

Mar 27, 2025 · What Is Ozone? Ozone (O 3) is a gas molecule composed of three oxygen atoms.Ozone is good up high, bad nearby. The ozone layer found high in the upper atmosphere shields us from much of the sun's ultraviolet radiation.

Mar 11, 2025 · Ozone is a gas composed of three atoms of oxygen. Ozone occurs both in the Earth's upper atmosphere and at ground level. Ozone can be good or bad, depending on where it is found.

Mar 26, 2025 · Ozone can be “good” or “bad” for health and the environment depending on where it’s found in the atmosphere. Stratospheric ozone is “good” because it protects living things from ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Ground-level ozone, the topic of this website, is “bad” because it can trigger a variety of health problems.. EPA regulations help states reduce ozone levels in ...

Yet ozone isn't all bad news. In higher concentrations as a layer far up in the stratosphere, roughly 10 to 50 kilometres (6 to 30 miles) overhead, this same molecule is a lifesaver. It absorbs between 90 and 99 percent of the ultraviolet radiation that reaches Earth from the Sun, preventing it from damaging living things below.

Sep 23, 2024 · The concentration of ozone varies with altitude. Peak concentrations, an average of 8 molecules of ozone per million molecules in the atmosphere, occur between an altitude of 30 and 35 kilometers.

The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. When did we realize ozone depletion was an issue, and how did we fix it? By 1985, the globe had already seen advancements in the scientific understanding of ozone depletion and its impacts on human health and the environment.

Is ozone a greenhouse gas? Ozone is technically a greenhouse gas, but ozone is helpful or harmful depending on where it is found in the earth's atmosphere.Ozone occurs naturally at higher elevations in the atmosphere (the stratosphere) where it forms a layer that blocks ultraviolet (UV) light, which is harmful to plant and animal life, from reaching the earth’s surface.