by Angus Fergusson
WHEN I get calls from students seeking information for projects on the ozone layer, I always provide printed material but also steer them towards the Internet where there is now a vast amount of information on this topic. Students can explore exciting research sites created by scientists; they can download, analyze and graph data for their projects; and they can obtain information on international agreements and other steps being taken by the global community to reduce the use of substances that deplete the ozone later. The following is a road map to some of the web sites that are particularly worth a visit.
While most ozone-related sites offer information appropriate for high school and up, some are designed to be of interest to younger students. The "Kids' Zone" at the Environment Canada site offers basic information and a quiz. At the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) site, students can follow the intrepid reporter Farley on the "Trail of the Missing Ozone". And for children who love hands-on experiences, the Exploratorium site allows visitors to plot a graph of ozone depletion using data images from NASA and the Neumayer Antarctic station. Young children may not fully understand ozone science, but they will understand that humans have an impact on the environment and thatmeasures are being taken to protect it.
The sites of Environment Canada and the US EPA are also good starting places for older
students. At both sites students can find introductory explanations or seek detailed
information on ozone science, the impact of ozone depletion on human health and the
environment, and international regulations and domestic policies to curb the use of
ozone-depleting substances. Both sites also have many links to other useful sites. In
addition, the EPA provides details of their soon to be launched SunWise School Program.
For Canadian students wanting to examine current and historical data, the web site of the
Experimental Studies Division of Environment Canada contains ozone data from monitoring
stations at 12 locations across Canada. The data is displayed in various graphic forms to
help students see trends and fluctuations.
On the global level, the United Nations Environment Programme provides a clearinghouse of
information related to ozone and the challenges faced in its preservation. In addition,
the World Meteorological Organization site allows access to their northern hemisphere
ozone maps and to Antarctic ozone bulletins which they publish monthly during spring in
the Southern hemisphere. The web site of the British Antarctic Survey Team who in 1985
discovered the ozone hole contains a great deal of material from their three Antarctic
stations as well as graphs of total ozone. Antarctic ozone soundings are also on the web
site of Germany's Alfred Wegener Institute which posts data from their Neumayer and South
Pole Stations. Data on these sites shows that the ozone layer has been nearly annihilated
in the lower stratosphere during the Antarctic spring.
Many environmental organizations have web sites related to ozone depletion which are also
worth visiting. There you will find critical commentary on national policies and
international agreements such as the Montreal Protocol. The web site of Ozone Action, a
Washington D.C. group, focusses on global climate change and stratospheric ozone
depletion. For students researching health and environmental impacts of ozone depletion, a
British Columbia group publishes excerpts of their informative publication The UVB Impact
Reporter.
Ozone depletion is an example of an environmental problem which will be reversed only if we can achieve an unprecedented level of global cooperation. For this, the Internet is the ideal research tool, allowing students to span the globe to explore, investigate, analyze and have fun while they are gaining the knowledge and skills they need.
Stratospheric Ozone Internet Sites
(Government sites)
Environment Canada: http://www.ec.gc.ca/ozone
Canadian Meteorological Centre:
http://www.cmc.ec.gc.ca/cmc/htmls/a-ozone.html
Environment Canada Experimental Studies Division:
http://exp-studies.tor.ec.gc.ca
U.S. Environment Protection Agency:
http://www.epa.gov/ozone
(Government scientific sites)
Earth Probe TOMS Data and Images:
http://jwocky.gsfc.nasa.gov/eptoms/ep.html
British Antarctic Survey:
http://www.nerc-bas.ac.uk/public/icd/jds/ozone
Alfred Wegener Institute:
http://www.awi-bremerhaven.de/MET/Neumayer/ozone.html
(United Nations sites)
United Nations Environment Programme:
http://www.unep.org/unep/secretar/ozone/home.htm
World Meterological Organization:
http://www.wmo.ch/web/arep/arep-home.html
(Education and environmental advocacy)
Exploratorium:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/ozone/graphing.html
Ohio State Univerisity:
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/ozone-depletion/top.html
Ozone Action: http://www.ozone.org
The UVB Impact Reporter:
http://www.islandnet.com/~see/uvb.htm