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The Black Summer bushfires impacted the ozone layer
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By Olivia Henry, the Australian Science Media Centre
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Smoke from Australia’s 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires produced unexpected and extreme changes to the make up of stratospheric gases beyond any seen in the previous 15 years of measurements, according to US and Canadian researchers.
Using satellite data, the team found changes to the chemistry of the atmosphere 10 to 30 km above the earth, including increases in compounds containing chlorine, which have the potential to destroy ozone.
The research, published today in the journal Science, is the second paper in the space of a few weeks to warn about the potential impact of these fires on the ozone layer.
The first, published in PNAS earlier this month, also used satellite data to examine the effect of the Black Summer bushfires on ozone.
In an Expert Reaction to the AusSMC, Professor Ian Rae from the School of Chemistry at the University of Melbourne, who was not involved in either study, explained that this research is important because ozone concentration in the stratosphere is carefully balanced by natural processes.
“Ozone molecules are formed and destroyed, and the two processes are in balance. Adding extra chemical substances to the mix can upset the balance and reduce the ozone concentration,” he said.
The PNAS findings also show the Black Summer bushfires disrupted ozone’s natural balance, resulting in a mid-latitude ozone loss of 1 per cent in March 2020 alone.
While this may not seem like much, the ozone layer is only predicted to recover from existing damage by 1 per cent each decade.
Professor Clare Murphy, Director of the Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry at the University of Wollongong told the AusSMC that with a changing climate, these kinds of events are likely to be repeated.
“This means that increased wildfire occurrence and intensity may act to slow down the recovery of the ozone layer,” she said.
These studies looked at the impact of the bushfires on mid-latitude ozone, and not over the South Pole where the infamous Antarctic ozone hole resides, and Professor Murphy said that this mid-latitude damage will have a direct effect on Aussies.
“Any slowdown in the recovery of ozone in the mid-latitudes will increase the overall exposure to UV-radiation for Australians and hence may impact the occurrence of skin cancers in future,” she said.
Read more about the Science research here, and read the full Expert Reaction to the PNAS paper here.
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This article originally appeared in Science Deadline, a weekly newsletter from the AusSMC. You are free to republish this story, in full, with appropriate credit.
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"You can't help but see those thousands of galaxies behind it, really gorgeous"
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James Webb Telescope operations project scientist Jane Rigby on the first test photo the telescope has taken in space.
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Global COVID-19 deaths may be 3 times higher than official records (The Lancet)
18.2 million people may have died as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in its first two years, according to international modellers. While the official COVID-19 death toll was at 5.9 million from the start of 2020 to the end of 2021, the team of researchers compiled excess death statistics from around the world; deaths that were unexpected compared to average death tolls before the pandemic. Using modelling to plug the gaps in the data, the researchers estimate excess deaths of 18.2 million, with the highest death rates occurring in Latin America, Eastern Europe and Southern sub-Saharan Africa. Australia, they say, is one of a handful of countries that appear to have had slightly fewer deaths than usual over those two years, about 38 fewer deaths per 100,000 people before the end of 2021. Research from: International; Australia; QLD.
Example coverage: Major study finds COVID death toll three times higher than official | Sydney Morning Herald
COVID-19 patients can develop resistance to treatment with Sotrovimab (New England Journal of Medicine)
Australian researchers have uncovered resistance mutations to Sotrovimab – a monoclonal antibody treatment developed to minimise the risk of severe COVID-19 in patients who have underlying health conditions. Research led by the University of Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases has reported genetic changes in the virus that causes COVID-19, associated with the development of resistance to Sotrovimab, in patients given the drug. Research from: Australia; NSW.
Example coverage: Fears drug-resistant Covid is spreading in Australia as a medicine used to treat the disease causes a mutant strain | Daily Mail
Microscopic ocean predator with a taste for carbon capture (Nature Communications)
A single-celled marine microbe capable of photosynthesis and hunting and eating prey may be a secret weapon in the battle against climate change. Scientists have discovered a new species that has the potential to sequester carbon naturally, even as oceans warm and become more acidic. The microbe photosynthesises and releases a carbon-rich exopolymer that attracts and immobilises other microbes. It eats some of the entrapped prey before abandoning its exopolymer ‘mucosphere’, which sinks to form part of the ocean’s natural biological carbon pump. Research from: Australia; International; NSW.
Example coverage: Scientists have discovered a microscopic ocean predator with a taste for carbon | Sky News
Two in three Australians will develop common skin cancers as incidence rises (Public Health Research & Practice)
More than two thirds of Australians will be treated for the most common skin cancers in their lifetime, with rates increasing by up to 6% a year over the past three decades, according to new research published today. Research from: Australia; NSW.
Example coverage: Skin cancers on the rise in Australia as sun damage catches up with ageing population | The Guardian
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This week, we joined ABC Darwin to chat about cushions that breathe and resurrecting the Christmas Island rat.
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