You might remember the chaos about a hole in the ozone layer back in the 1980s and 90s: the protective layer above the Earth protecting us from harmful UV radiation that was being stripped away.
It’s now become an environmental success story, on its way to a full recovery. But there’s a catch.
Read more: The ozone layer is healing. So why can’t we fix the climate crisis?
Rocket launches spew new types of gases and exhaust into the upper atmosphere, and scientists are only now beginning to unpick what this might do.
Might the hole in the ozone layer open up again from this new industry?
Read more: Rocket launches pose a new threat to the ozone layer
In this podcast, Dr Sophie Calabretto talks to Cosmos Magazine journalist Ellen Phiddian about how we overcame this environmental hurdle and the latest threat that could catapult us right back to where we started.
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Originally published by Cosmos as What happened to the hole in the ozone layer?
Sophie Calabretto
Dr Sophie Calabretto is a mathematician specialising in fluid mechanics. She is Honorary Senior Lecturer at Macquarie University and Honorary Associate Professor, at the ACE Research Group, University of Leicester.
Ellen Phiddian
Ellen Phiddian is a science journalist at Cosmos. She has a BSc (Honours) in chemistry and science communication, and an MSc in science communication, both from the Australian National University.
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