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Environmental effects of stratospheric ozone depletion, UV radiation, and interactions with climate change: UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, Update 2021
Citation:
Barnes, P., T. Robson, P. Neale, C. Williamson, R. Zepp, S. Madronich, S. Wilson, A. Andrady, A. Heikkilä, G. Bernhard, A. Bais, R. Neale, J. Bornman, M. Jansen, A. Klekociuk, J. Martinez-Abaigar, S. Robinson, Q. Wang, A. Banaszak, D. Häder, S. Hylander, K. Rose, S. Wängberg, B. Foereid, W. Hou, R. Ossola, N. Paul, J. Ukpebor, M. Andersen, J. Longstreth, T. Schikowski, K. Solomon, B. Sulzberger, L. Bruckman, K. Pandey, C. White, L. Zhu, M. Zhu, P. Aucamp, J. Liley, R. McKenzie, M. Berwick, S. Byrne, L. Hollestein, R. Lucas, C. Olsen, L. Rhodes, S. Yazar, AND A. Young. Environmental effects of stratospheric ozone depletion, UV radiation, and interactions with climate change: UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, Update 2021. PHOTOCHEMICAL AND PHOTOBIOLOGICAL SCIENCES. Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, Uk, , 275-301, (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43630-022-00176-5
Impact/Purpose:
This assessment was conducted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Environmental Effects Assessment Panel (EEAP). The EEAP is one of three Panels informing the Parties to the Montreal Protocol on the interactive effects of changes in stratospheric ozone and climate at the Earth’s surface on human health and the environment. This report provides an update to our previous extensive assessment (Photochemical and Photobiological Sciences, 2021, 20(1), 1-67) of changes in carbon sinks, greenhouse gas production, ecosystems, and nutrients in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Photodegradation of organic matter produces carbon dioxide (CO2) as well as biologically-labile photoproducts that can be more easily degraded by decomposer organisms (bacteria and fungi) in a process known as photo-facilitation. Research on warming of the cryosphere has continued to quantify the permafrost carbon feedback that releases the greenhouse gases, CO2, methane and nitrous oxide, from thawing permafrost in the Arctic. Other studies indicate that photodegradation of organic matter by solar UV radiation is a major source of methane in the upper ocean. New data and models are assessed on the photochemical decomposition of controlled substances and other contaminants.
Description:
The Environmental Effects Assessment Panel of the Montreal Protocol under the United Nations Environment Programme evaluates effects on the environment and human health that arise from changes in the stratospheric ozone layer and concomitant variations in ultraviolet (UV) radiation at the Earth’s surface. The current update is based on scientific advances that have accumulated since our last assessment (Photochem and Photobiol Sci 20(1):1–67, 2021). We also discuss how climate change affects stratospheric ozone depletion and ultraviolet radiation, and how stratospheric ozone depletion affects climate change. The resulting interlinking effects of stratospheric ozone depletion, UV radiation, and climate change are assessed in terms of air quality, carbon sinks, ecosystems, human health, and natural and synthetic materials. We further highlight potential impacts on the biosphere from extreme climate events that are occurring with increasing frequency as a consequence of climate change. These and other interactive effects are examined with respect to the benefits that the Montreal Protocol and its Amendments are providing to life on Earth by controlling the production of various substances that contribute to both stratospheric ozone depletion and climate change.
URLs/Downloads:
DOI: Environmental effects of stratospheric ozone depletion, UV radiation, and interactions with climate change: UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, Update 2021
BARNES2022_ARTICLE_ENVIRONMENTALEFFECTSOFSTRATOSP.PDF (PDF, NA pp, 2001.331 KB, about PDF)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35191005/