Bob May wrote:

...
Why isn't there an Ozone Hole at the NORTH Pole?

http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2...htm?list146784

Winds also play a key role in ozone destruction.

The cold air over Antarctica in winter creates a huge "whirlpool"
of fast-moving air circling Antarctica called the "Antarctic
vortex."

This vortex effectively insulates Antarctica from the rest of the
atmosphere.

"It forms up almost as a whirlpool that sits there and is very
stable. It locks in that body of air and it keeps the outside
high-ozone air from coming in," McPeters said.

Most stratospheric ozone is created in the tropics, because
the intensity of the solar radiation that causes formation
of ozone is higher nearer the equator. The ozone is then
transported by stratospheric air currents to the Arctic and
to Antarctica.

The strong and stable vortex prevents the migration of ozone
into the stratosphere over Antarctica, exacerbating the low
levels caused by the ice crystal-catalyzed destruction of ozone.

"The (Antarctic) vortex sets up in the (Southern Hemisphere's)
fall and runs all winter," Newchurch said. "The ozone depletion
occurs in the springtime when sunlight becomes available. Then
toward the end of the spring the vortex breaks down, and over
the summer there really isn't a vortex. And then it sets up
again the next fall."

A similar vortex forms around the Arctic, but "atmospheric waves"
caused by landmasses with high mountain ranges in the Northern
Hemisphere frequently push the vortex off the pole, allowing
warmer air into the Arctic.

The relative warmth of the Arctic is the main reason why a similar
ozone hole doesn't form over the North Pole.


You're welcome.

--

FF