This classic textbook on stratospheric ozone, authored by NASA scientists, is now available for the first time both in print and as an e-book. With over 280 full-color illustrations, it provides an exceptionally accessible guide to complex topics such as stratospheric dynamics, radiation and chemistry, atmospheric waves, the Brewer-Dobson circulation, the quasi-biennial oscillation, the polar vortex, and the ozone hole-explained with remarkable clarity and precision. The book presents a thorough exploration of: the atmosphere and ozone (chapters 1-3); the fundamental physical and chemical processes governing atmospheric behavior and ozone levels (chapters 4-6); ozone measurement (chapter 7); ozone variability (chapter 8) and trends (chapter 9); ozone pollution (chapter 10); the Antarctic ozone hole (chapter 11); and ozone modeling (chapter 12).
Four decades have passed since the signing of the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer. Since then, humanity has nearly eliminated the emission of ozone-depleting substances, which have declined steadily over the past 25 years. Despite this progress, ozone recovery and the closure of the Antarctic ozone hole have seen limited advancement. A newly added chapter (13), authored by a scientist unaffiliated with NASA, examines the slow pace of ozone recovery and explores its potential causes.