Scientist who discovered ozone layer hole: 'We are still inflicting major changes on the atmosphere'

Thirty years after three British scientists discovered a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica, one of them says humans are still "inflicting major changes on the atmosphere."

"Then, it was chlorofluorocarbons; today it is greenhouse gases," Jon Shanklin of the British Antarctic Survey told The Guardian. "The ozone hole story tells us that it is very easy to cause major changes to the atmosphere — it only took about 10 years to develop — but it is very difficult to restore equilibrium. Unfortunately, we don't seem to have learned that lesson."

In 1985, Shanklin, along with colleagues Brian Gardiner and the late Joe Farman, discovered manmade chemicals were depleting the ozone in the upper atmosphere, allowing cancer-causing radiation to reach the earth. Their work led to the Montreal Protocol, an international treaty that banned CFCs and has been called "the single most successful international agreement to date."

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

But Shanklin now notes that "the CFCs we put up there will take a long time to dissipate," and that the ozone layer is far from fully recovered.

Read the rest of the interview over at The Guardian.