| 1. |
- Barnes, Paul W., et al.
(författare)
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Ozone depletion, ultraviolet radiation, climate change and prospects for a sustainable future
- 2019
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Ingår i: Nature Sustainability. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2398-9629. ; 2:7, s. 569-579
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- © 2019, Springer Nature Limited. Changes in stratospheric ozone and climate over the past 40-plus years have altered the solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation conditions at the Earth’s surface. Ozone depletion has also contributed to climate change across the Southern Hemisphere. These changes are interacting in complex ways to affect human health, food and water security, and ecosystem services. Many adverse effects of high UV exposure have been avoided thanks to the Montreal Protocol with its Amendments and Adjustments, which have effectively controlled the production and use of ozone-depleting substances. This international treaty has also played an important role in mitigating climate change. Climate change is modifying UV exposure and affecting how people and ecosystems respond to UV; these effects will become more pronounced in the future. The interactions between stratospheric ozone, climate and UV radiation will therefore shift over time; however, the Montreal Protocol will continue to have far-reaching benefits for human well-being and environmental sustainability.
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| 2. |
- Jansen, Marcel A. K., et al.
(författare)
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Environmental plastics in the context of UV radiation, climate change, and the Montreal Protocol
- 2024
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Ingår i: Global Change Biology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 30:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- There are close links between solar UV radiation, climate change, and plastic pollution. UV-driven weathering is a key process leading to the degradation of plastics in the environment but also the formation of potentially harmful plastic fragments such as micro- and nanoplastic particles. Estimates of the environmental persistence of plastic pollution, and the formation of fragments, will need to take in account plastic dispersal around the globe, as well as projected UV radiation levels and climate change factors.image
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| 3. |
- Jansen, Marcel A. K., et al.
(författare)
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Plastics in the environment in the context of UV radiation, climate change and the Montreal Protocol : UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, Update 2023
- 2024
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Ingår i: Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. - : Springer Nature. - 1474-905X .- 1474-9092. ; 23, s. 629-650
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This Assessment Update by the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP) of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) considers the interactive effects of solar UV radiation, global warming, and other weathering factors on plastics. The Assessment illustrates the significance of solar UV radiation in decreasing the durability of plastic materials, degradation of plastic debris, formation of micro- and nanoplastic particles and accompanying leaching of potential toxic compounds. Micro- and nanoplastics have been found in all ecosystems, the atmosphere, and in humans. While the potential biological risks are not yet well-established, the widespread and increasing occurrence of plastic pollution is reason for continuing research and monitoring. Plastic debris persists after its intended life in soils, water bodies and the atmosphere as well as in living organisms. To counteract accumulation of plastics in the environment, the lifetime of novel plastics or plastic alternatives should better match the functional life of products, with eventual breakdown releasing harmless substances to the environment.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Andrady, Anthony, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental effects of ozone depletion and its interaction with climate change: Progress report 2007
- 2008
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Ingår i: Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1474-9092 .- 1474-905X. ; 7:1, s. 15-27
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- This year theMontreal Protocol celebrates its 20th Anniversary. In September 1987, 24 countries signed the ‘Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer’. Today 191 countries have signed and have met strict commitments on phasing out of ozone depleting substances with the result that a 95% reduction of these substances has been achieved. The Montreal Protocol has also contributed to slowing the rate of global climate change, since most of the ozone depleting substances are also effective greenhouse gases. Even though much has been achieved, the future of the stratospheric ozone layer relies on full compliance of the Montreal Protocol by all countries for the remaining substances, including methyl bromide, as well as strict monitoring of potential risks from the production of substitute chemicals. Also the ozone depleting substances existing in banks and equipment need special attention to prevent their release to the stratosphere. Since many of the ozone depleting substances already in the atmosphere are long-lived, recovery cannot be immediate and present projections estimate a return to pre-1980 levels by 2050 to 2075. It has also been predicted that the interactions of the effects of the ozone layer and that of other climate change factors will become increasingly important.
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| 6. |
- Andrady, Anthony, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental effects of ozone depletion and its interactions with climate
- 2009
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Ingår i: Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. - 1474-9092. ; 8:1, s. 13-22
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- After the enthusiastic celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 2007, the work for the protection of the ozone layer continues. The Environmental Effects Assessment Panel is one of the three expert panels within theMontreal Protocol. This “EEAP” deals with the increase of the UV irradiance on the Earth’s surface and its effects on human health, animals, plants, biogeochemistry, air quality and materials. For the past few years, interactions of ozone depletion with climate change have also been considered. It has become clear that the environmental problems will be long-lasting. In spite of the fact that the worldwide production of ozone depleting chemicals has already been reduced by 95%, the environmental disturbances are expected to persist for about the next half a century, even if the protective work is actively continued, and completed. The latest full report was published in Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2007, 6, 201–332, and the last progress report in Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2008, 7, 15–27. The next full report on environmental effects is scheduled for the year 2010. The present progress report 2008 is one of the short interim reports, appearing annually.
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| 7. |
- Andrady, Anthony, et al.
(författare)
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Environmental effects of ozone depletion and its interactions with climate change: Progress report, 2016
- 2017
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Ingår i: Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1474-9092 .- 1474-905X. ; 16:2, s. 107-145
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Parties to the Montreal Protocol are informed by three Panels of experts. One of these is the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP), which deals with two focal issues. The first focus is the effects of UV radiation on human health, animals, plants, biogeochemistry, air quality, and materials. The second focus is on interactions between UV radiation and global climate change and how these may affect humans and the environment. When considering the effects of climate change, it has become clear that processes resulting in changes in stratospheric ozone are more complex than previously believed. As a result of this, human health and environmental issues will be longer-lasting and more regionally variable. Like the other Panels, the EEAPproduces a detailed report every four years; the most recent was published as a series of seven papers in 2015 (Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2015, 14, 1–184). In the years in between, the EEAP produces less detailed and shorter Progress Reports of the relevant scientific findings. The most recent of these was for 2015 (Photochem. Photobiol. Sci., 2016, 15, 141–147). The present Progress Report for 2016 assesses some of the highlights and new insights with regard to the interactive nature of the direct and indirect effects of UV radiation, atmospheric processes, and climate change. The more detailed Quadrennial Assessment will bemade available in 2018.
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| 8. |
- Aucamp, Pieter J., et al.
(författare)
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Questions and answers about the environmental effects of ozone depletion and its interactions with climate change: 2010 assessment
- 2011
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Ingår i: Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1474-9092 .- 1474-905X. ; 10:2, s. 301-316
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- In the mid-1970s it was discovered that some man-made products destroy ozone molecules in the stratosphere. This destruction leads to higher ultraviolet (UV) radiation levels at the surface of the Earth and can cause damage to ecosystems and to materials such as plastics. Itmay cause an increase in human diseases such as skin cancers and cataracts. The discovery of the role of the synthetic ozone-depleting chemicals, such as the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), stimulated increased research and monitoring in this field. Computer models predicted a disaster if nothing was done to protect the ozone layer. Based on this scientific information, the nations of the world took action in 1985 with the Vienna Convention for the Protection of theOzone Layer, followed by the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer in 1987. The Convention and Protocol have been amended and adjusted several times since 1987 as new knowledge has become available. The Meetings of the Parties to the Montreal Protocol appointed three Assessment Panels to regularly review research findings and progress. These panels are the Scientific Assessment Panel, the Technological and Economic Assessment Panel and the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel. Each panel covers a designated area with a natural degree of overlap. Themain reports of the Panels are published every four years, as required by the Meeting of the Parties. All three reports have an executive summary that is distributed more widely than the entire reports. It has become customary to add a set of questions and answers – mainly for non-expert readers – to these executive summaries. This document contains the questions and answers prepared by the experts of the Environmental Effects Assessment Panel. They refer mainly to the environmental effects of ozone depletion and its interactions with climate change, based on the 2010 report of this Panel, but also on information from previous assessments and from the report of the Scientific Assessment Panel. Readers who need further details on any question should consult the full reports for a more complete scientific discussion. All these reports can be found on the UNEP website: http://ozone.unep.org.
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| 9. |
- McKenzie, Richard L., et al.
(författare)
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Changes in biologically active ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth's surface
- 2007
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Ingår i: Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. - 1474-9092. ; 6:3, s. 218-231
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Montreal Protocol is working. Concentrations of major ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere are now decreasing, and the decline in total column amounts seen in the 1980s and 1990s at mid-latitudes has not continued. In polar regions, there is much greater natural variability. Each spring, large ozone holes continue to occur in Antarctica and less severe regions of depleted ozone continue to occur in the Arctic. There is evidence that some of these changes are driven by changes in atmospheric circulation rather than being solely attributable to reductions in ozone-depleting substances, which may indicate a linkage to climate change. Global ozone is still lower than in the 1970s and a return to that state is not expected for several decades. As changes in ozone impinge directly on UV radiation, elevated UV radiation due to reduced ozone is expected to continue over that period. Long-term changes in UV-B due to ozone depletion are difficult to verify through direct measurement, but there is strong evidence that UV-B irradiance increased over the period of ozone depletion. At unpolluted sites in the southern hemisphere, there is some evidence that UV-B irradiance has diminished since the late 1990s. The availability and temporal extent of UV data have improved, and we are now able to evaluate the changes in recent times compared with those estimated since the late 1920s, when ozone measurements first became available. The increases in UV-B irradiance over the latter part of the 20th century have been larger than the natural variability. There is increased evidence that aerosols have a larger effect on surface UV-B radiation than previously thought. At some sites in the Northern Hemisphere, UV-B irradiance may continue to increase because of continuing reductions in aerosol extinctions since the 1990s. Interactions between ozone depletion and climate change are complex and can be mediated through changes in chemistry, radiation, and atmospheric circulation patterns. The changes can be in both directions: ozone changes can affect climate, and climate change can affect ozone. The observational evidence suggests that stratospheric ozone (and therefore UV-B) has responded relatively quickly to changes in ozone-depleting substances, implying that climate interactions have not delayed this process. Model calculations predict that at mid-latitudes a return of ozone to pre-1980 levels is expected by the mid 21st century. However, it may take a decade or two longer in polar regions. Climate change can also affect UV radiation through changes in cloudiness and albedo, without involving ozone and since temperature changes over the 21st century are likely to be about 5 times greater than in the past century. This is likely to have significant effects on future cloud, aerosol and surface reflectivity. Consequently, unless strong mitigation measures are undertaken with respect to climate change, profound effects on the biosphere and on the solar UV radiation received at the Earth’s surface can be anticipated. The future remains uncertain. Ozone is expected to increase slowly over the decades ahead, but it is not known whether ozone will return to higher levels, or lower levels, than those present prior to the onset of ozone depletion in the 1970s. There is even greater uncertainty about future UV radiation, since it will be additionally influenced by changes in aerosols and clouds.
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| 10. |
- McKenzie, Richard L., et al.
(författare)
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Ozone depletion and climate change: Impacts on UV radiation.
- 2011
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Ingår i: Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1474-9092 .- 1474-905X. ; 10:2, s. 182-198
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Forskningsöversikt (refereegranskat)abstract
- The Montreal Protocol is working, but it will take several decades for ozone to return to 1980 levels. The atmospheric concentrations of ozone depleting substances are decreasing, and ozone column amounts are no longer decreasing. Mid-latitude ozone is expected to return to 1980 levels before mid-century, slightly earlier than predicted previously. However, the recovery rate will be slower at high latitudes. Springtime ozone depletion is expected to continue to occur at polar latitudes, especially in Antarctica, in the next few decades. Because of the success of the Protocol, increases in UV-B radiation have been small outside regions affected by the Antarctic ozone hole, and have been difficult to detect. There is a large variability in UV-B radiation due to factors other than ozone, such as clouds and aerosols. There are few long-term measurements available to confirm the increases that would have occurred as a result of ozone depletion. At mid-latitudes UV-B irradiances are currently only slightly greater than in 1980 (increases less than ~5%), but increases have been substantial at high and polar latitudes where ozone depletion has been larger. Without the Montreal Protocol, peak values of sunburning UV radiation could have been tripled by 2065 at mid-northern latitudes. This would have had serious consequences for the environment and for human health. There are strong interactions between ozone depletion and changes in climate induced by increasing greenhouse gases (GHGs). Ozone depletion affects climate, and climate change affects ozone. The successful implementation of the Montreal Protocol has had a marked effect on climate change. The calculated reduction in radiative forcing due to the phase-out of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) far exceeds that from the measures taken under the Kyoto protocol for the reduction of GHGs. Thus the phase-out of CFCs is currently tending to counteract the increases in surface temperature due to increased GHGs. The amount of stratospheric ozone can also be affected by the increases in the concentration of GHGs, which lead to decreased temperatures in the stratosphere and accelerated circulation patterns. These changes tend to decrease total ozone in the tropics and increase total ozone at mid and high latitudes. Changes in circulation induced by changes in ozone can also affect patterns of surface wind and rainfall. The projected changes in ozone and clouds may lead to large decreases in UV at high latitudes, where UV is already low; and to small increases at low latitudes, where it is already high. This could have important implications for health and ecosystems. Compared to 1980, UV-B irradiance towards the end of the 21st century is projected to be lower at mid to high latitudes by between 5 and 20% respectively, and higher by 2–3% in the low latitudes. However, these projections must be treated with caution because they also depend strongly on changes in cloud cover, air pollutants, and aerosols, all of which are influenced by climate change, and their future is uncertain. Strong interactions between ozone depletion and climate change and uncertainties in the measurements and models limit our confidence in predicting the future UV radiation. It is therefore important to improve our understanding of the processes involved, and to continue monitoring ozone and surface UV spectral irradiances both from the surface and from satellites so we can respond to unexpected changes in the future.
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