Tuesday, 30 April 2013

Steve Jobs


Steve Jobs:-


Just 14 years ago, Apple was on the verge of bankruptcy.
But then – worried that it would be viewed as a monopoly without competition from Apple – Microsoft came to Apple's rescue with a $150 million investment.
Had that not happened the world may never have seen iPods, iPads, iPhones or iMacs.
But that was just the start of Apple's return to glory, the greatest corporate comeback story of all time, led by Steve Jobs.

1997 - Partnering with the enemy, Microsoft


When Apple co-founder Steve Jobs returned to the company in July of 1997, it marked the beginning of Apple's resurrection.
After 12 years of financial loss, Gil Amelio was ousted from the CEO position.  Jobs took the interim position and was tasked with major restructuring, out of which a partnership with Microsoft was formed. One of his first decisions was to nix the Newton, a project that sucked $100 million out of the dying company, even though it was a product ahead of its time.

The Apple-Microsoft deal was revealed at the ’97 Macworld Expo.  Gates and Jobs announced a five-year contract that would release an updated Mac version of Microsoft Office and Microsoft's $150 million investment in Apple.

Jobs humbly explained to the audience: “If we want to move forward and see Apple healthy and prospering again, we have to let go of a few things here. We have to let go of this notion that for Apple to win, Microsoft has to lose.
"So, the era of setting this up as a competition between Apple and Microsoft is over as far as I'm concerned. This is about getting Apple healthy, this is about Apple being able to make incredibly great contributions to the industry and to get healthy and prosper again.”
As he spoke these words, Jobs was both booed and cheered. 
The Lesson: Jobs had a daunting task ahead of him, but he wasn't afraid to make difficult decisions to get the company back on track.  Cutting costly projects like Newton and aligning with known-competitor Microsoft were controversial decisions that showed Jobs' authority, confidence, and smarts.
View the keynote below.

1998 - Introducing the iMac


Apple was still struggling, and they needed a good product to turn things around.
The iMac, introduced in 1998, was the solution. The unique design, which resembled the Macintosh 128K, was created by Jonathan Ive, designer of now iconic Apple technology, the iPod and the iPhone.  Ive reinvented the 'boring beige box" and for the first time, you could actually see a computer's guts.  The all-in-one iMac sold nearly 800,000 units within its first five months.
Apple returned to the software space that year with an acquisition of Macromedia’s Final Cut product.
For the first time since 1995, Apple returned to profitability. According to FundingUniverse.com, the company turned a profit of $309 million in 1998.
The Lesson: Steve Jobs reportedly called a meeting at Apple, sat everyone down and said, "You know what's wrong with this company? The products SUCK -- there's no sex in them." Jobs' decision to throw resources into a new, futuristic computer model drew people's attention to Apple, and it paid off.
Check out the 1998 MacWorld Expo clip below.

1999 - Apple stock reaches $99 per share, profits increase 94%


lowendmac.com
Apple continued its resurgence, seeing healthier profits and thus healthier stock prices.  In 1999, their sales grew 3.2%, and profits doubled to $601MM, a 94% increase from the year prior.
The Lesson: Apple began expanding its products beyond just computers with the release of Final Cut Pro. They also noted what worked with the iMac, and built out new products based on proven success. Each success showed Jobs was turning the company around, and the public grew more confident in Apple's stability.
See the first appearance of the iBook in the 1999 MacWorld Expo clip below.

2000 - Jobs becomes permanent CEO of Apple; Apple has its most unprofitable quarter in three years


Photograph: Peter Morgan/Reuters
Apple announced a new strategy for tackling the Internet at the 2000 Macworld Expo.  They unveiled iTools, Mac-only internet applications.  They also announced Earthlink as their recommended ISP. Having successfully gotten Apple back on track, Jobs was able to drop "interim" from his CEO title and earned himself a permanent position.
Jobs also announced that the previous quarter, 1,350,000 Macs were sold - that's one product sold every six seconds.
Later that year, Apple released new machines including The G4 Cube, a risky move that was an ultimate failure.  Apple-History.com writes, "The Cube was Apple's answer to those who wanted an iMac without a monitor, as well as challenge to the computing industry to continue to minimize the size of computers while increasing their visual appeal. The Cube was the biggest gamble Jobs had made since the release of the iMac. It would turn out to be a resounding failure."
This release marked the beginning of a tough few months for the rebounding company. Their third quarter was its first unprofitable one since Jobs' return.  While the tech industry was seeing an overall downturn, some poor decisions by Apple aided their unprofitable quarter.  The first problem was the G4 Cube was a bust. Another factor was their decision to have DVD-ROM drives in their computers instead of CD-RWs, which prevented users from being able to burn CDs.
In an attempt to right their wrongs, Apple cut prices on their PowerMac products. 
The Lesson: Under the reign of Steve Jobs, Apple proved they weren't afraid to take risks and fail. They also showed that when something wasn't working, they could adjust quickly, pulling plugs and changing strategy as necessary. Jobs has said, "We're gambling on our vision, and we'd rather do that than make 'me-too' products."
Steve Jobs presents the G4 Cube in the keynote below.

2001 - The iPod, iTunes and the Apple Store are born


Macworld photo by Rick LePage
On May 15, 2001, Jobs unveiled the first Apple Store.  They were such a hit that he later remarked, "We had 26 million visitors during the holiday quarter in retail stores. I mean think about it, this is more people than live in any state in our union besides California."
A few months later, Jobs announced their next big hit, the iPod. The portable music player went from concept to market in about 8 months.  The iPod undoubtedly changed the music industry, but iTunes, which was also introduced this year, was Apple's true genius.
iTunes broke music industry standards and helped the major labels including Universal and Warner, fight piracy.  "We said: These [music subscriptions] services that are out there now are going to fail...People don't want to buy their music that way," Jobs tells Rolling Stone. 
"They're going to want to buy downloads. People want to own their music.  You don't want to rent your music -- and then, one day, if you stop paying, all your music goes away...It's cheaper to buy and that's what they're gonna want to do.
"80% of the people stealing music online don't really want to be thieves.  But [it's so] compelling -- it's instant gratification.  We don't see how you convince people to stop being thieves, unless you can offer them a carrot, not just a stick."
The Lesson: With multiple product hits, Apple's comeback was in full swing.  Each product launch became  highly-anticipated events by media and the public alike.  The company proved with the iPod that they could execute ideas quickly, and successfully dominate other hardware besides computers.
The Apple Store was a brilliant solution to a problem Apple was having - other retailers weren't giving Apple products proper shelf-life and space. Apple was able to create a real consumer experience in their stores, and give their products the displays they deserved. Gigaom writes, "When you enter the Apple Retail Store, you find a well-lit place that is inviting and aesthetically appealing...More importantly, the company lets you play with its devices as much as you want. Nothing makes the sale as effectively as the iPhone or the iPod touch itself. You like what you see, then you buy."
Take a tour of the first Apple Store in Tyson's Corner Mall in Virginia, below.

2002 - The swivel-neck iMac gets Jobs on the cover of Time


At the January MacWorld Expo, Apple released a redesigned iMac with a swivel neck, which would be discontinued two years later. That same year, they released the Xserve 1U rack mounted server. This was Apple's effort to enter the enterprise computer market with a cheaper version.
Apple sleeked up its overall look, replacing the 'happy mac" icon with the gray logo when Jaguar was released.
Still, the company saw financial struggles in late 2002 thanks to poor macroeconomic conditions and weak PowerBook and PowerMac sales. They announced a quarterly loss of $45 million, despite the release of one of their most successful ad campaigns ever, "Switchers." 
The lesson: Jobs kept the company new and fresh by coming up with out-of-the-box concepts. He did this in all aspects of Apple, in new products, and even in hiring decisions, drawing inspiration from everywhere. "Part of what made the Macintosh great was that the people working on it were musicians, and poets, and artists, and zoologists, and historians who also happened to be the best computer scientists in the world," Jobs has said.
For the 2002 MacWorld Expo, see below.

2003 - The iTunes Music Store is released


January 2003 marked the end of the Classic Mac OS era.  The first PowerBooks were released in 2003 and were the first to use the aluminum exterior.
Next the third generation iPod was introduced with a dock connector in the bottom, which would lead to USB support.
The same day the iPod was released, iLife and the iTunes Music Store were announced.  The online music marketplace was fully integrated into iTunes for Macs, and shortly after it was released for Windows.
The store was an instant success, selling one million songs in its first week. 
This year, Apple also placed its first store in Japan.
The lesson: Think ahead, and connect the dots.  Apple released products that were innovative in and of themselves, but they also connected with other products.  The integration of iPods, iTunes and the iTunes Music Store prove how a sum can be greater than all of its parts.
Check out the iTunes for Windows demo, below.

2004 - iTunes leads to 70% market share, iPod mini released


Apple's market share in the computer industry continued to decline, hitting a low of 3% in 2004. But with the iTunes/iPod integration, Apple positioned itself to take the music industry by storm.  
Also that year, Apple released the hit iPod Mini, and by the end of iTunes' first year, Apple had 70% market share of legal downloaded music.  More than 100 million songs were downloaded by July, 2004.
Keeping with the mini trend, Apple opened a series of mini stories, about half the size of their other retail locations, in hopes of expanding to smaller markets with less demand.
The lesson: Simplicity is bliss.  iTunes made downloading songs easy and legal. The iPod Mini was sleek and simple, without any bells and whistles. Apple's designer Jonathan Ives confirms their strategy: "We are absolutely consumed by trying to develop a solution that is very simple, because as physical beings we understand clarity."

2005 - Release of the iPod Shuffle, Mac Mini, and transition to Intel-based Macs begins


Apple began its transition to Intel-based Macintoshes in 2005. They made the announcement at a June keynote, confirming rumors.
Continuing to push their lead in the music sector, Apple released the video iPod in 2005.  This pushed iPod sales over 30 million.  This year, the Mac Mini and the iPod Shuffle were also released.
The lesson: Keep innovating and improving.  Apple presents multiple forms of the same devices with entirely different looks and packaging (the Nano versus the Mini). Even if improvements are slight, each product has a new identity that gets people excited.
See its release in the clip from MacWorld Expo 2005, below.

2006 - Apple passes Dell's market cap, and its Intel-based computers are significantly faster than ever


Apple put the Intel deal into action with the release of its 2006 MacBook Pro and iMac, both using Intel's Core Duo chip technology which made the systems significantly faster.
Apple's increasing improvement was evident in the stock prices. At roughly $80 per share, Apple's stocks had increased ten fold in ten years, up from $6 in 1997.  In January 2006, Apple surpassed Dell's market cap. Just ten years prior, Michael Dell had said that if Apple were under his control, he'd "shut it down and give the money back to shareholders."
The Lesson: Sell dreams, not products. Customers first and foremost care about themselves, and if you help them find out what it is they want, they will latch onto your brand. Jobs doesn't use focus groups or wait for people to make demands. Instead, he releases must-have products before people even know they will want it.

2007 - The iPhone revolutionizes the mobile industry, Apple TV is announced


In 2007, Jobs announced a company name change.  Apple Computers Inc. would now be known as Apple Inc, a sign that the company was planning to define itself by much more than its original goal.
The iPhone and Apple TV were announced at that year's Macworld Expo, and by May 2007, Apple's shares broke $100, an all-time company high.
The iPhone was Apple's first mobile attempt, and it immediately revolutionized the industry, essentially turning a video iPod into a personal device like no company had done before.
The Lesson: Steve Jobs is a relentless innovator, and Apple always seems to find a new way to produce products that improve our lives. Thinking differently has been a key component to Apple's second coming.
Check out the iPhone's intro at the 2007 Macworld Expo, below.

2008 - The App Store is unveiled, along with trackpads with multi-touch technology


Apple brought touch capabilities to their computers and iPhone with the release of trackpad in 2008. The multi-touch technology was designed exclusively for Apple and can interpret many three-finger strokes.
They also released the App store in 2008 for the iPhone and iPod Touch.  The App Store was another instant hit, bringing in 60 million app sales and generating $1 million for Apple daily just one month after its launch.  Jobs has said that the App store alone could be a billion-dollar invention for the company. 
Later that year, it was evident just how popular the iPhone was when Apple became the third-largest mobile-handset supplier in the world.
The Lesson: Apple is great at connecting separate products to one another.  The App Store, for example, was made to enhance both the iPhone and iPad.  According to Jobs, "Creativity is just connecting things."
The MacBook Air was also released this year. See it being released at the 2008 Macworld Expo, below.

2009 - Steve gets sick


TechDigest
For the first time in 20 years, it was announced that Jobs would not attend Macworld Expo.  In January 2009, an internal memo to Apple employees was made public and rumors were verified that Steve Jobs' health was waning.  Later that month, Jobs announced a six-month medical leave of absence to recover from his illness.
Despite his absence and the recession, Apple continued to surge, reporting its best non-holiday quarter ever in Q1 2009 with $8.16 billion in revenue and a profit of $1.21 billion.  Jobs returned to the company in June after having a liver transplant.
The lesson: Trust your team.  A company may only seem as great as one person, but if you hire smart people, they're perfectly capable of stepping up to the plate.
See Phil Schiler give the 2009 Macworld Expo keynote in place of Jobs, below.

2010 - The year of the iPad


2010 is the year of the iPad, Apple's solution to Amazon's kindle, creating a mobile-laptop hybrid device.  The iPad uses the iPhone's touch technology and apps.  500,000 units were sold during its first-week debut.
The iPhone 4 was released with new features such as Skype-like Face Time video calling.  In October, Apple's stock reached an all-time high of more than $300 per share.
The lesson:  Innovation doesn't require focus groups. Steve Jobs doesn't believe in asking customers their opinions. You can develop products people will want before they even know they want it. Sometimes, you can know customers better than they know themselves.
On October 5, 2011, Steve Jobs passes away at age 56.


AP
And the world responds in mourning.

Here's the legacy Steve left, and what you can learn from Apple's amazing history:


Associated Press
In 2010, for the first time since 1989, Apple's market cap exceeded Microsoft's.  This feat would have seemed impossible back when Gates poured money into the nearly bankrupted company.
By creating great products enhanced by brilliant packaging, and by changing their computer-only mission, Apple became a technology titan. Almost every product released is a guaranteed, instant hit, and every keynote Jobs gave was a media frenzy.
So what's to be learned from this story?
Think simple - The iPad is so simple 2-year-olds can use it.
Be different - Like the iMac.
Be a risk taker and make tough decisions - Jobs partnered with Microsoft and nixed the Newton.
Make great products, and package them even better - Show customers what they want, like the iPhone did.
Create an experience - Apple did this with their stores. And hype, like Macworld does for the media.
Be confident - don't hold focus groups and ask people what they think.
Be passionate - Steve Jobs said in his Stanford commencement speech: "Have the courage to follow your heart and your intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become."



PinHole Camera



The First Camera Invented: How Did It Work? thumbnail


Mo-Ti, a Chinese philosopher who lived from 470 B.C. to 390 B.C., invented the first camera, which he called the "locked treasure room." His idea refers to what we call a pinhole camera. Aristotle embraced this novel idea 50 years later and applied it to observing sun eclipses without looking at the sun directly. The Egyptian Abu Ali Al-Hasan Ibn al-Haitham (965--1039 AD) revived the pinhole camera about 1,300 years later and thoroughly documented the design and properties in his publication "Book of Optics." Finally, Johannes Kepler added a lens in the early 1600s to downsize the device, and Robert Boyle and his assistant Robert Hooke further refined the concept and made the camera portable in the mid-1650s.

  1. Pinhole Camera

    • The pinhole camera consisted of a dark room (which later became a box) with a small hole punctured into one of the walls. The light from outside the room entered the hole and projected a luminous beam onto the opposing wall. The illuminated projection showed a smaller inverted picture of the scene outside the room. The smaller the hole, the sharper the image appeared. However, when the hole was too small, the projected image lacked brightness. Hence, there was an optimal hole size that gave enough definition and brightness to the image.

    Applications

    • The pinhole camera allowed observing the sun, its movement, and its eclipses without looking at the sun directly. Solar systems using the pinhole approach were integrated into architectural constructions to indicate the time of the day. The pinhole rooms were considered educational amusement rooms during the Renaissance. A recent study documented in the Hockney--Falco thesis made an attempt to validate the controversial assumption that several artists of the 17th century used optical technology, such as the pinhole camera, to block the proportions of their paintings as well as port some complex details.

    Limitations

    • The pinhole camera works best with immobile sceneries. For a perfectly sharp photo, the hole would need to be infinitely small, which is not a realistic scenario. Hence, the photo from a pinhole camera tends to be slightly blurred. Furthermore, the tiny opening limits the amount of light that can enter the dark room or dark box. To create a bright photo, the opening must remain open for a long time to allow enough light to project onto photosensitive paper. Hence, capturing a person in motion would not be possible with a pinhole camera.

    Evolution

    • In 1827, Joseph Nicephore discovered that light from a pinhole camera projected onto an element that blocked shadow and light areas on a metal plate coated in bitumen could create a pattern on the coated plate similar to the shape of the element. This imprint stayed for a few hours. Louis Daguerre joined Nicephore in perfecting the process to shorten the time of exposure and retain the imprint. Finally, in 1939 the daguerreotype invention that used iodine-coated silver-plated copper for the impression and a silver-chloride bath to fix the image was licensed to the French government. This opened the door for modern photography.

    Contemporary Relevance

    • The pinhole camera remains relevant today to modern technical imaging with X-ray radiation or gamma rays that normally are absorbed by the lenses used in contemporary cameras. Hence the pinhole invention has travelled out of space and been integrated in spacecraft.


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IT(information technology)

Information technology:-


Information Technology is defined as the use of computers and software to manage information. In some companies, it can be called Management Information Services (MIS) or Information Services (IS). The information technology department of a large company is responsible for storing information, protecting information, processing the information, transmitting the information, and later retrieving information if needed.
Around 1980, computers with integrated circuits on a single chip started to become available as an affordable item, specifically designed for use by consumers. The first IBM (News  -Alert) PC was released in 1981. Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs), which are the programs that enable users to look at screens with windows, clickable commands and color—appeared in the late 1980s. Windows was introduced in 1983, while the first Apple Macintosh came on the market in 1984.
Fifteen years ago, a computer with 24 megabytes of random access memory (RAM (News -Alert)) was great amount of memory. Currently, most new computers boast a memory of one gigabyte – which is an increase of over forty times.
Information technology has also shifted from focusing on single computers to networks of computers, as the years have passed and technology has advanced. Networked computers allow many different users to have access to common databases, which has allowed databases to be where most business records for big companies are held. Software that implements these databases has quickly become a billion-dollar industry. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software drives business activities for many large enterprises who sells products across the world.
Information technology has brought us the Internet. The web has quickly grown to become a primary choice in order for people to communicate whether it be through email or instant messaging services. The Internet also works as an advertising platform for millions of businesses around the globe.
Information technology has made banking online a reality. So much time was once spent on daily trips to the bank, but now via the Internet people can keep tabs on all their bank transactions with the click of a mouse.
Some big companies in the IT industry are Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Cisco, Apple, Dell (News  -Alert), Hp, Toshiba and Compaq.

Jamie Epstein is a TMCnet Web Editor. Previously she interned at News 12 Long Island as a reporter's assistant. After working as an administrative assistant for a year, she joinedTMC (News - Alert) as a Web editor for TMCnet. Jamie grew up on the North Shore of Long Island and holds a bachelor's degree in mass communication with a concentration in broadcasting from Five Towns College. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.

Sound Waves

Sound Waves:-



The 20th century had a far-flung effect on the spreading of words. We dub this era "Sound Waves" for the enormous social currents generated by this hyper-sonic hundred years. It overlaps other word-ripe eras perched on our Genre Tree. Curious events, borderline obsessions & outright blunders gave shape to Sound Waves, and this inventive period in American spoken word history bloomed out of the strange buzz about electromagnetic energy.

In the mid 1800's (our Early Traditions era) Heinrich Hertz proved the existence of a wave-like ether. The brilliant mathematician Maxwell had already defined it in a theorem but the observation of it, the scientific proof of an invisible force was akin to discovering another dimension. The force was moving— it pulsed & permeated the air, passed through our bodies & in things all around! It undulated in waves—continuous & measurable— it was capable of conducting particles called electrons. This took inventors on a zigzag, spark-n-ticking journey of rolling trends & fantastic imaginings.

Visionaries brainstormed ideas for exploiting the ether. If it traveled in predictable cycles and energy initiated & sustained the motion… and sounds traveled in harmonic waves that produce a single frequency… sound could be isolated, manipulated, burned into soft materials & played back. Mid-air, it could be broken & released in a kind of spark-gap code. You could transmit signals (even vocal messages) along a wire! Possibilities were endless! Here comes progress. Here comes profit. The age of radio &recording was born.

In a flash, the patent office was swimming in a sea of newfangled machines. By the end of the 1800's (our Industriots era) the industrialized world was up to its ears in the electro-forced contraptions: the vibraphone, the telegraph, telegram, telephone, phonogram, gramophone, ah, & the phonograph, everybody wanted that. There were tele-typewriters, dictaphones, photophones & whaddaya do with that— an electro-motograph? There was a furious flap & flux about what to do next. Should we get more wired… or go wireless? And on & on & on it went.  

While many historians recognize Nikola Tesla as a major visionary, inventor & promoter of wireless radio, Guglielmo Marconi (gee GLELL mo Mar CONE knee) ended up with the exclusive patent. We find rumors of dirty politicking in that story.

Whoever got rich or rooked, we thank all the pioneers of electro/radio technology so a broadly banded vocality was impressed on the soundscapes of today… and new media ripples into anyone's guess for Futurwurds. Today, we broadcast Spoken Word like the planting of seeds— we get behind the mic, expand the audience, travel the globe at the speed of light— our voices soar on wondrous currents of innovation.

Who was the first spoken word performer to broadcast on the newly discovered radio waves? Reginald Aubrey Fessenden. We know, funky name. But he was a colleague of the prolific inventor Thomas Edison, and Thomas called him "Fezzy", so we will too.

Fezzy was a weather station manager, a professor, inventor & brilliant electrical engineer. He had a crazy inkling to see radio go wireless & to reach an expansive audience in multiple locations & to spread it out in audible words! (Really, that Morse code tick-n-clatter was sooo slow & dispassionate.)

Fezzy went on the air Christmas Eve 1906 & again on New Year's. He broadcasted out of his weather station at Brant Rock, Massachusetts. The performance was brief. But it was thoughtful & it was the first, so don't knock it. He played phonograph music, live violin (badly, he claimed) and dramatically read the Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke— "…on Earth peace to men of good will". He & Mrs. Fezzy, Helen, signed off with some improvised chatter wishing everyone a very merry x-mas.

Who was the audience for the first radio talent show? Well, let's just say no tickets had been sold to these astonished souls— the weather station masters that heard Fezzy's program— all along the coast reaching to Norfolk, Virginia, and, there were quite a few shipper-men out in the Atlantic (salty telegraph operators called "sparks") as far away as the West Indies. Imagine how they didspark! First, slumped at their stations in a melancholy stupor about having to sail away the holiday, then… music & voices! Whuz-zat?— angelic voices echoing in the headphones instead of Morse code!

People were familiar with voices over telephones in 1906, but those were connected with wires. Fezzy had gone wireless! (The first wireless cell phone?) More astounding, he used it for entertainment, a very cutting edge idea considering entertainment radio would not become commonplace until a few decades after the infamous "Fezzy Holiday Show"!

What took so long? First, the vacuum-tube had to be perfected, then, sorting out the frequencies. Some guys devised plans for jamming frequencies because you can't just let anyone go around tangling up the waves(!) but once the electronic parts were easy to snag, there were hundreds of amateur radio-heads. Patent questions… new laws needed … government committees had to outline a system for licensing. (And we all know how slooow those committees can be.)

It was all so costly. Was government going to pay like they were doing in Europe? Wouldn't that restrict programming? This was the land of free speech, after all; who would decide on appropriate content? Maybe radio could be "subscriber-only" (which was the first inkling of the idea behind today's cable networks). But how do you keep people from eavesdropping on channels? Is there an American aural aesthetic? Is commercial advertising okay? Isn't it patronizing to tell someone what brand of pickles to buy?

This is what finally played out: Four horsemen rode out on the air waves— AT&T, General Electric, Westinghouse & RCA— "the patent allies". They were confident someday they would trample smaller companies out of business. Didn't happen. The inventors' patents had fine print clauses to protect "amateurs". And, competition was fierce due to listener loyalty & patrons for the independent programs. Long live the public broadcast system we say!

U of W in Madison aired the first lengthy oratory on WHA in 1916 (though no one remembers who delivered it or what it was exactly). The first radio news program was broadcast out of Detroit in 1920 by unlicensed 8MK (today's WWJ). The first publicly targeted, licensed radio station is credited to KDKA Pittsburgh. The list goes on & on of radio stations laying claim to being the first to air this & the first to air that. But the crux of this bantering illustrates the radio free-for-all.

There was a recording boom, too, because the public loved having wide access to music, music, music & they didn't even mind a little jabber of words. The public soaked up the sounds, always primed for the next interesting auditory experience sooo…

Companies cranked out the products— records & players, radios & programs— anything that could spin was selling anything from soaps to boats. The recording industry used radio to promote performers; in turn, the artists did spots to promote the radio & their sponsors. Many spoken word-ers & musicians worked on-airfor free at first, caught up in the glamour of this new medium. Over the coming decade, radio talent would expand from newscaster/hosts (who showcased classical musicians) to a variety of genres: commercial voice-overs, jingle-ers, soap opera stars,readers theatre actors, poets, sound FX artists, folk-tellers & joke-tellers.

Humor, yee-haw! People craved comedy as much as music. The huge market for comedy became apparent after the antics of a showman named Rudy Vallee. Initially, the typical 20's radio format was formal— symphonic music & dance orchestra stuff— and was sprinkled with praise-pattering about the sponsor. But band leader Rudy was manically energetic & terribly funny & put together a genius eclectic, folk-y program. Radio evolved into a kind of air-born Variety Theatre.

This change was a saving grace for stage performers that had been laid-off when vaudevillian theatres switched over to motion-picture houses. We guess it was just more fun for audiences to gape at glamour gods & goddesses on a magical screen than to feel pity for live-show actors who (in comparison) looked alluva-sudden paste-y & sometimes flubbed a line.

Radio gave new hope to the old spoken word-ers. Even during the worst of times (the Depression), they felt radio was at least something solid. All the world really was a stage, a platform of job security… all through the 30's & 40's.

One comedian who was able to coat-tail off Rudy Vallee's success was Eddie Cantor. He became the most famous, solo, American comic of early radio. He already had a long performance history in theatre & film, and he sold a mountain of phonograph records. The SpokenOak site names Eddie the absolute first multi-genresuperstar. We see that his work developed conventions that instructed many comedians who followed.

Eddie's three biggies were using an in-studio audience to amplify authenticity, perfecting the straightman-stooge bantering & the running gag. The running gag is called a hook— the repetition of an absurd idea or a bumbling routine shows the audience an "inside joke", so they keep coming back to see if the joke is ever resolved.

We wonder if the suspenseful feature of the running gag may have birthed a whole new format for radio— serial programming. This is suspense-based drama which airs in continuing episodes. This idea kicked off with a show out of Chicago called Empire Builders (1929-31). It was gripping, extremely well-acted & made use of innovative sound FX played live in studio. It inspired a flurry of crime shows. Sherlock Holmes, The True Story Hour, Dr. Fu Manchu & others. We suppose these were the techno-shock & plot-thick CSI stories of the Depression era.

After syndicated shows became commonplace (shows that are pre-recorded & sold to other stations), the dominant program of the Depression years was hosted by flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker. The showcases were Oral Histories on the lives of World War I Medal of Honor winners. Here, the hook was the heart-wrenching sound of a soldier's own words— droning or choking back tears— young voices revealed miraculous tales of pain & valor.

The show that always gets mentioned as being representative of early radio is Amos & Andy, a long running, ever-evolving, serial drama/comedy. It extended even into the television format. Industry historians herald the "quality" of writing & performance and emphasize the fact that it reached tens of millions of households. But, conscious people today note the ugly racial epithets & stereotyping of African Americans. The shameful tone of the show garnering such widespread approval exposes the callous, commonplace bigotry rooted in America's history.

This is a good place to highlight the enormous responsibility a spoken word-er carries. There is power in the skillful use of language. Through content & style, every performer shares a stage "attitude" which contributes to the shaping of the social attitudes of listeners. This fact is controversial today when people discuss the impact of mass media on culture, especially youth. How powerful is Spoken Word? What is the meaning of free speech? Should there be a performance ethic?

Spoken word with images— moo-ooooving images— here is a major crest in our Sound Waves. The syncing of sound with photography— framing images, movement & light— this works magic on the mind. The invention of movies created an American obsession with film stars, but the birth of television, which is "movie-radio", was (& still is) more controversial. Probably because it was clear from the start that by the 40's & 50's television could become the hearth-fire of Everyperson's reality.

The convenience & illustrative beauty of TV appeals to most everyone, no matter what age, intellect, race or locale. It provides news, relaxation & a window into popular culture. It is the most loved & most hated electronic toy in America today. (Though, video games seem to be gaining ground.)

It wasn't hard to assimilate the new TV technology. It operated on existing radio frequencies & easily flowed into existing networks & business plans. The audience was ready-made— the old radio fans faithful to the familiar radio stars & shows that made a smooth transition into a glowing, pixel-face showcase.

It would seem that old-school radio was on the way out. But the migration of talent only tweaked the radio format back to a focus on music & chatter… and advertising. Mr. Ford saved radio, too, by stuffing them into the thousands of cars rolling out of Detroit on the way to every American driveway.

By the mid 50's there were 32 million TV sets being watched seven nights a week. Revenue for TV broadcast surpassed radio by $everal million & climbing. American icons were cranked out from spots on The Ed Sullivan Show. Stand-up comedy flourished. Westerns, soaps & cop shows were tops until the smash hit calledthe game show came along. That craze took off after Columbia University professor Charles Van Doren won a whopping $129,000 on the quiz show Twenty One. (Rigged, by the way.)

So, television was all about mainstream modern living. (Alternative, special interest cable & independent films would come along much later). So where were the alternative artists of the 40's & 50's? Jazz clubs & jukes were still the favorite haunts of "freaks" & the downtrodden, and a literary sub-culture was gelling at Columbia University, NY. (What is it with that school?) A few years before the game-y, trivia-packed professor found stardom, there were these off-beat poets, also brain-y guys, but they were pretty wild compared to Charlie Van D. It was 1943 and they found a darker game to play— the Beat Generation was underway.

The undergrads & cronies forming the core of the early Beats were Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso & William Burroughs. Burroughs was the oldest, a Harvard-grad following some friends from Chicago… dumb friends, leading into an ordeal of jealousy, weirdness & murder… after that, the group preferred writing poetry, taking drugs & kicking around for existential enlightenment. Neil Cassidy (from Denver) joined them & became their psycho-cowboy mascot. (Rumor was he stole 500 cars before the age of 21 but read books rapaciously to ease his boredom.) There were women, too, artists, writers, friends, lovers; some became wives & mothers of little baby Beats. 

So, contrary to the now dreary, eternally-sexist myth that The Beat Generation (the official name for this literary/philosophical movement) was exclusively a men's movement, it was not. TheShe Beats (our label) were writers & artists in their own right. Theshort list includes Edie Parker, Joyce Johnson, Ruth Weiss, Joan Vollmer-Adams, Eileen Kaufman, Hettie Cohen-Jones, Carolyn Robinson, Anne Waldman, Janine Pommy-Vega & the now often mentioned Diane DiPrima. We recognize they are the foremothers of the feminist circle poets who would come along later in the 60's & 70's. 

The Beat Generation was largely centered in artist/writers colonies in Greenwich Village (NY), Venice West (Los Angeles) & North Beach (San Francisco). There were other hotspots, rarely mentioned today— Witchita, Kansas was a central hub, and jazz clubs in Chicago & campuses across the nation were the bloodbeat of this thriving cultural coup.

The philosophy was about visionary enlightenment, sometimes found in drug use & risk-taking equivalent to today's "jack-assing". The difference is, though it was about living the gritty street-life, there was a pride for & a focus on artistic sensibility & creating a new literary style. The writing was characterized by free-flowing stream of consciousness & an uninhibited use of language.

The San Franciscan rebel poets gained momentum over the Newyorkian group into the late 50's. Though the west coast had Beats, there were distinguishing characteristics that set them apart. Though still swimming in drug-use, the members were not so nihilistic. (Like reaching for the hash instead of the heroin.) This groovier movement was called The San Francisco Renaissance, which helps distinguish it from being just another camp of Beats. The accent can be placed on its longevity, for it flowed seamlessly into the next generation of 60's hippy-dom. Memorable names here are William Everson, Robin Blaser, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Jack Spicer, Michael McClure, Madeline Gleason & particularly Kenneth Rexroth, whose home was a regular hangout for readings & philosophizing.

The spoken word experiments of the San Francisco Renaissance seeped into the American mainstream as "flower children" & the "Age of Aquarius" became powerful national symbols. West coast youth culture "happenings" & "sit-ins" came to epitomize the discontent over Vietnam & rampant government deception. Renaissance members who enjoyed wide-spread notoriety include the Grateful Dead, Sly Stone, Ken Keesey & the Zen-poet Gary Snyder who was the important poet who helped seed the concept of deep ecology into American consciousness.

The intellectually & emotionally-driven poetry about peace, solidarity & conscious living was reflected in a major folk music revival in the 60's. This was promoted in the sophisticated lyrics of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins, Joni Mitchell, Peter, Paul & Mary… and the beat goes on…

Some common themes of the 60's counterculture were the rejection of middle-class values, the need for protest & the value of experimentation for achieving enlightenment. Transcendental attitudes translated to gurus, lots of gurus… lots of drug use, too. No one brought these two things, drugs & spiritualism, together so brilliantly (& we should say meglomaniacally) as Timothy Leary, the charismatic Harvard professor & leading spokesperson forPsychedelica and the LSD-laced lifestyle.

Timothy Leary was a brassy, talented orator. He has also been described as vain, mentally-damaged & self-aggrandizing. We believe he was all of these, but a brilliant showman no less. His life story reads like a thrilling, sleazy, out-of-control legend & it is up for debate whether he poisoned or empowered the generation with his mantra "turn on, tune in and drop out". Leary invented some of the first interactive video games in the 70's, but his most amazing stunt was dying online, which he espoused immortalized his spirit— wavering words & psilocybin nerves eternally interfaced with cyberspace!

Backing up to 1966, in the New York Bowery, Lower East Side Manhattan, another guru of sorts was drawing a crowd— Paul Blackburn organized the Poetry Project at St. Mark's Church. There was already a flowering coffeehouse poetry scene & though we imagine café readings were happening all across the country, Paul was determined to document his readers series. The line ups were impressive with Beats as well as members of other writers groups, like the New York School, Umbra, Deep Imagists, Patarealists & the experimental college poets called the Black Mountain poets.

Black Mountaineer Joel Oppenheimer later became the Project's first official director, turning The Project into the major east coast center for alternative poetry. Blackburn collected miles & miles of readings on tape and also held writing workshops (with Alice Notley & Bernadette Mayer) which were probably some of the first poet-run classes ever for wannabe poets. Here lay the roots to upcoming trends— circle poets, slams, def jams, the stand-up network, urban storytellers, performance poets, independent monologue actors— all, spoken word genres that would be open to non-academic newcomers. And, it is commonplace today for professional to hold after-show workshops for novice word-ers.

The final splash we take in Sound Waves involves a sudden flux of electronic sound. (Here we go again, experimenting with electrons.) By the mid 60's, rock-n-roll had evolved into rock. There were lots of genres of rock; the bass guitar-driven melodies fused well with different multi-ethnic sounds & rhythms. But all rock shared one predominate characteristic— a wall of sound— a fully spread-out background sound— something you could really hang some words on! Technology was changing things in the mixing room, too, which allowed words, content(!), to be mixed to the forefront. In 1968, the Moog synthesizer showed up & the wall bloomed into one big mosaic of heady sound & heady words.

Digital gear for recording evolved, so did stage electronics, making the 70's an exciting time for word-ers to go mixed & multi-mixed. Anyone willing to improvise, risk a little feedback, or take an unexpected high volt-ed shock became a performance artist. Experimentation with the newest sampling device, effects box or computer-interfaced keyboard became the trend for cutting edge word/sound artists.

Artists got monocular over finding technical solutions for their new toys. Some performances seemed overwhelming for most audiences, chaotic, incomprehensible, sensational, or over-done. The art world (including the underground) scrambled to inject some integrity back into the art. There needed to be some new direction, a philosophy, but what? Luckily, an art movement calledFLUXUS (with European roots back to the 50's) stepped up. This would save the American audience from the empty multi-gadgetry gone out of control.

Avant-garde ideas (neo-avant-garde) came out of the American FLUXUS community. The movement resonated with many formally trained artists, musicians & writers. The late 60's & early 70's sound experiments of John Cage, Robert Wilson & Morton Feldman are in this category as are Elenor Antin's films, the "happenings" of Allison Knowles (performance-sound-text installations) & David Antin's talk-poems.

We find David's talk-poems most intriguing. These are provocative, quirky presentations combining the genres of lecture, stand-up comedy, storytelling & poetry. This format brought attention to the need for a new label, intermedia, which helped to describe (& therefore validate to the public) the confusing overlap & melding of interdisciplinary creations. Now technology could make "an assist" instead of "a mess". A cadre of solo (monologue style) performers using multi-media (video, music, sampled sound, movement, visual art) hit theatres across the country. These new artists were viewed as the reputable ones for they helped us recognize the value of creating art from clearly defined philosophies. We praise FLUXUS for saving us from our technically-enamored selves.

By the late 70's, after the re-routing of art, which was the re-wiring of media to live performance, something extremely significant was happening in the inner-city dancehalls. There was some energetic plundering & scratching going on. Black DJs were pulling in a lot of white college kids & MCs were hip-hopping a new way to play with rhythm & words. Some people wanted to mooove & Rap was about ready for the attack.

The new music & word/sound experiments found huge support with the electro-savvy youth culture of the 70's. They were the wired ones, the ones who opened channels into the 80's. The children of the computer age (our Postmodern era) were coming down the pike, and things were pretty well shored up when the PCs got bought up— a gargantuan wave of digital words was about to sweep the world.

Haber Bosch Process


Haber Process:-


Fritz Haber (left, 1.0 Nobel prizes in 1918) and Carl Bosch (right, 0.5 Nobels in 1931) have probably had a greater impact than anyone in the past 100 years, including Hitler, Gandhi, Einstein, etc.
Their Haber-Bosch process has often been called the most important invention of the 20th century (e.g., V. Smil, Nature, July 29 1999, p 415) as it "detonated the population explosion," driving the world's population from 1.6 billion in 1900 to 6 billion in 2000.

The 70 million deaths of World War I and World War II almost vanish next to these numbers. But Haber, a patriotic German Jew, shared some responsibility for those as well: his work helped Germany to significantly prolong WW I, and also to develop the Zyklon B poison gas used in WW II's Holocaust. Haber's almost paradoxical biography affected more lives and deaths than anybody else's.

Bosch was a co-founder of IG-Farben, the world's largest chemical company. After WW II the allies broke it up into three smaller parts, each still larger than any foreign chemical company.


In the past 200 years only the germ theory of disease by Pasteur & Koch (1868-1876) had an impact on mankind that rivals the one of the Haber-Bosch process. 
.



Haber-Bosch process: 
Under high temperatures and very high pressures, hydrogen and nitrogen (from thin air) are combined to produce ammonia.
Nearly one century after its invention, the process is still applied all over the world to produce 500 million tons of artificial fertilizer per year. 1% of the world's energy supply is used for it (Science 297(1654), Sep 2002); it still sustains roughly 40% of the population (M. D. Fryzuk, Nature 427, p 498, 5 Feb 2004). Billions of people would not even exist without it. And our dependence will only increase as the global count moves from six to ten billion people or so.

Celebrity


What is celebrity? What makes a person a celebrity?:

This is more than merely an academic question. Forbes magazine has just released its list of the top 100 celebrities in the world today, and its an interesting and intriguing list for anyone interested in the media and its effect on our society.

In case you were wondering, no, I didn't make the list this year (no doubt an oversight).


The criteria for the ranking on the list are interesting, for starters. Forbes uses a complicated formula that takes earnings, press clippings, magazine covers, TV /radio appearances, and Internet Web hits all intro consideration. This combination of money and media begs the question of what exactly IS celebrity. Obviously, according to Forbes magazine, it has nothing at all to do with talent, intelligence, contributions to the world, or quality of character. It's all money and media.


And this special formula which they created makes for some interesting entries and placements on the list. Julia Roberts - only number 12 in terms of earnings with 50 million dollars - is nonetheless top of the celebrity list, based in large part on her seven magazine covers, ten thousand press clips, and forty-one thousand Internet hits. For the record, George Lucas (400 million dollars in earnings), Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Michael Jordan, the Rolling Stones, Tiger Woods, the Backstreet Boys, Cher and Stephen Spielberg round out the Top 10.


There are a few actual authors in the list, which the English teacher in me finds interesting. Stephen King (65 million dollars in earnings), Tom Clancy (66 million), John Grisham ( 36 million) and Maya Angelou (3 million) may attest to the fact that our society can still read - and make a few authors quite rich.


There is also the usual mix of sports figures, movie stars, and even fashion designers (Georgio Armani, Calvin Klein, Bill Blass) on the list. It's interesting that neither the President of the United States nor anyone running for that office seems to qualify as a "celebrity" - although Elizabeth Dole (#65 on the list)) and George and Barbara Bush (#76) are included.


Oddly enough, there are some on the list who have absolutely no talent at all - Jim Carrey (#19), Howard Stern (#30), Rosie O'Donnell (#35), and Dr. Laura (#70).


And - as is true with any list - there are some whose presence here just mystifies me: Dale Earnhardt (#36), Roseanne (#74), Don Imus (#77), The Rock (#83).


Another interesting realization that's implied in this list is that being a celebrity is big business - literally. Tiger Woods, for example, ( number 7 on the list, with 47 million dollars in earnings) is more a corporation than an individual. I mean, he makes more money than thousands of businesses. Everything from security to accounting to travel arrangements to publicity is no doubt as important to the Tiger Woods corporation as it is to Dole pineapple or Wheaties. We seem to be witnessing celebrities turning from merely famous people into huge corporate enterprises, capable of earning tens - or hundreds - of millions of dollars. They are commodities, much like winter wheat or pork bellies. Actually, some are more like wheat and some are more like pork bellies, but I digress.


And this is all underscored, I guess, by the very fact that it's Forbes magazine which is doing and publishing this list. It's not People magazine or The National Enquirer or Entertainment Tonight or a personality publication - it's a business magazine. Right next to stock analyses and tips on money management is this list of celebrities. What does THAT say about the nature of celebrity in our society today?


All in all, it's a interesting list, because it reveals our fascination with personalities, money, numbers, and the nature of lists themselves. Who's on it, the standards for ranking them, and even the magazine that published the results tell us a great deal about ourselves, whom we consider celebrities, and the value of these people in our culture.


It is an odd mix of money and media which - if you think about it - may not be so very odd after all.

Monday, 29 April 2013

Ozone


As mid-May brings on the onset of winter, the Antarctic stratosphere cools and descends closer to the surface. The Coriolis effect (caused by the earths rotation) sets up a strong westerly circulation around the south pole, forming an oblong vortex which varies in size from year to year. 

Polar Stratospheric Clouds
Lamont Poole, NASA Langley Research Center
As temperatures in the lower stratosphere cools below -80'C, Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSC's) start to form.
In the area over Antarctica, there are stratospheric cloud ice particles that are not present at warmer latitudes. Reactions occur on the surface of the ice particles that accelerate the ozone destruction caused by stratospheric chlorine. Polar regions get a much larger variation in sunlight than anywhere else, and during the 3 months of winter spend most of time in the dark without solar radiation. Temperatures hover around or below -80'C for much of the winter and the extremely low Antarctic temperatures cause cloud formation in the relatively ''dry'' stratosphere. These Polar Stratospheric Clouds (PSC's) are composed of ice crystals that provide the surface for a multitude of reactions, many of which speed the degradation of ozone molecules.  This phenomenon has caused documented decreases in ozone concentrations over Antarctica.
In fact, ozone levels drop so low in spring in the Southern Hemisphere that scientists have observed what they call a "hole" in the ozone layer. The ozone destruction process requires conditions cold enough for stratospheric clouds to form. Once these stratospheric clouds form the process can take place, even in warmer conditions.

Jonathan Shanklin of The BAS making ozone measurements 
© British Antarctic Survey

Ground based measurements of Ozone were first started in 1956, in at Halley Bay, Antarctica. Satellite measurements of ozone started in the early 70's, but the first comprehensive worldwide measurements started in 1978 with the Nimbus-7 satellite. 
Chloroflourocarbons were first created in 1928 as non-toxic, non-flamable refrigerants, and were first produced commercially in the 1930's by DuPont. The first Chlorofluorocarbon was CFC-12, a single carbon with two chlorines and two Fluorines attached to it. 
Mario J. Molina F. Sherwood Rowland
In 1974 M.J.Molina and F.S.Rowland published a laboratory study demonstrating the ability of CFC's to catalytically breakdown Ozone in the presence of high frequency UV light. Further studies estimated that the ozone layer would be depleted by CFC's by about 7% within 60yrs and based on such studies the US banned CFC's in aerosol sprays in 1978. Slowly various nations agreed to ban CFC's in aerosols but industry fought the banning of valuable CFC's in other applications. 


Dr. Shigeru Chubachi, Meteorological Research Institute, Japan, measures low ozone and an ozone hole over Syowa, Antarctica (reported at Ozone Commission meeting in Halkidiki, Greece in Sept 1984)

Joesph Farman, Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin of the British Antarctic Survey

In 1984 British Antarctic Survey scientists, Joesph Farman , Brian Gardiner, and Jonathan Shanklin, discovered a recurring springtime Antarctic ozone hole .Their paper was published in  Nature , May 1985, the study summarized data that had been collected by the British Antarctic Survey showing that ozone levels had dropped to 10% below normal January levels for Antarctica. 


 Dr Richard D. McPeters, Principal Investigator, Earth Probe TOMS at Goddard Space Flight Center explains "Our software had flags for ozone that was lower than 180 DU, a value lower than had ever been reliably reported prior to 1983. In 1984, before publication of the Farman paper, we noticed a sudden increase in low value from October of 1983. We had decided that the values were real and submitted a paper to the conference the following summer when Joe's paper came out, showing the same thing. As the first one in print, he gets full credit for discovery of the ozone hole. It makes a great story to talk about how NASA "missed" the ozone hole, but it isn't quite true."

In the 1980's the first measurements of this loss were actually documented. In 1984, when the British first reported their findings, October ozone levels were about 35 percent lower than the average for the 1960s. When the first measurements were taken the drop in ozone levels in the stratosphere was so dramatic that at first the scientists thought their instruments were faulty.

NASA Nimbus 7

The U.S. satellite Nimbus-7 quickly confirmed the results, and the term Antarctic ozone hole entered popular language. 

 The ozone hole appeared first over the colder Antarctic because the ozone-destroying chemical process works best in cold conditions. The Antarctic continent has colder conditions than the Arctic, which has no land-mass. As the years have gone by the Ozone Hole has increased rapidly and is as large as the Antarctica continent. The hole lasts for only two months, but its timing could not be worse. Just as sunlight awakens activity in dormant plants and animals, it also delivers a dose of harmful ultraviolet radiation. After eight weeks, the hole leaves Antarctica, only to pass over more populated areas, including The Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the tip of South America. This biologically damaging, high-energy radiation can cause skin cancer, injure eyes, harm the immune system, and upset the fragile balance of an entire ecosystem.  News about the ozone hole that forms over Antarctica each October has spread around the world. The ozone hole can be as big as 1.5 times larger than the United States. 


Size Comparison Antarctica -United States

Below is a table of geographic areas to be used as references in conceptualizing just how large the ozone hole can get.
Following are referable areas:
Australia 8,923,000 Sq Km
United States 9,363,130 Sq Km
Europe 10,498,000 Sq Km
Antarctica 13,340,000 Sq Km
Russia 17,078,000 Sq Km
North America 25,349,000 Sq Km
Africa 30,335,000 Sq Km
S. Pole to 70 S 15,300,000 Sq Km
Source: NOAA Climate Prediction Center

However, less-well-known is that ozone depletion has been measured everywhere outside the tropics, and that it is, in fact, getting worse. in the middle latitudes (most of the populated world), ozone levels have fallen about 10% during the winter and 5% in the summer. Since 1979, they have fallen about 5% per decade when averaged over the entire year. Depletion is generally worse at higher latitudes, i.e. further from the Equator.
The severity of the ozone hole varies somewhat from year to year. 
Ozone Hole Maximum Area Over Time
Year Area
(million sq. km)  
September 17, 1979 1.09 No Image
October 27, 1980 3.27
October 10, 1981 3.15
October 27, 1982 10.8
October 17, 1983 12.24
September 24, 1984 14.65
October 3, 1985 18.79
October 6, 1986 14.37
September 29, 1987 22.45
September 20, 1988 13.76
October 3, 1989 21.73
September 19, 1990 21.05
October 4, 1991 22.60
September 27, 1992 24.90
September 20, 1993 24.017 No Image
September 22, 1994 23.429 No Image
1995 No satellite in place  
September 7, 1996 26.96
September 27, 1997 25.13
September 19, 1998 28.21
September 15, 1999 26.09
September 3, 2000 29.4
September 17, 2001 26.52
September 19, 2002 21.74
September 24, 2003 28.51
September 22, 2004 22.76
September 11,2005
26.77

September 25,2006 29.46
September 13,2007 25.02

September 12, 2008 27.1
September 17, 2009 24.1
September 25, 2010 22.2
September 12, 2011 26.0
September 22, 2012 21.2


Data Courtesy of:  Dr. Richard McPeters NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

September 17, 1979
No Image
October 27, 1980

October 10, 1981

October 27, 1982

October 17, 1983

September 24, 1984

October 3, 1985

October 6, 1986

September 29, 1987

September 20, 1988

October 3, 1989

September 19, 1990

October 4, 1991

September 27, 1992


September 20, 1993
No Image
September 22, 1994
No Image
1995
No satellite in place
September 7, 1996

September 27, 1997

September 19, 1998

September 15, 1999


September 3, 2000

September 17, 2001


September 19, 2002

September 24, 2003


September 22, 2004


September 11,2005


September 25,2006

September 13,2007


September 12, 2008

September 17, 2009


September 25, 2010

September 12, 2010

September 22, 2012



2010 ozone hole smaller than usual
MACC - Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate-The destruction of ozone in the ozone layer over Antarctica this year is about 40 to 60% less compared to the previous five years, according to MACC analyses based on observations from the SCIAMACHY instrument on board the European ENVISAT satellite. Less ozone destruction is consistent with the expectation that the ozone layer will recover during the coming decades due to reduction in the stratospheric amount of chlorine. However, such a large change cannot be attributed to the slow decrease of stratospheric chlorine of 0.5-1% per year. This year’s reduced ozone destruction turns out to be caused by unusual meteorological conditions.
he Ozone Hole of 2010 was the second smallest in over a decade. It reached it's largest size of 22.6 million square kilometers on September 25,2010 which is below the decade average of 25.7 million square kilometers.


Sudden Stratospheric Warming
In July and August a phenomenon known as a Sudden Stratospheric Warming occurred in the stratosphere above Antarctica: a sudden fast warming in the ozone layer. The stratosphere is the atmospheric layer between 15 and 35 km altitude which contains large amounts of ozone that protects us from harmful ultraviolet radiation. The exact mechanisms of these of warmings are still not fully understood, but they happen quite often and have their origin in the troposphere, the lowest layer of the atmosphere where our weather occurs.
Effect of nitrogen-oxides on chlorine release
The ozone hole appears because of the destructive power of chlorine which is present in the ozone layer but under normal conditions chemically bonded with nitrogen-oxides. However, via complex chemical processes the chlorine can be released during the polar winter above Antarctica. At temperatures below -78°C the nitrogen-oxides are removed from the stratosphere. The remaining chlorine can no longer be bonded and when the sun becomes stronger during spring the chlorine can start to do its damaging work.
Although the temperature in the Antarctic stratosphere sinks below -78°C every July and August, it does not get much colder. A small temperature rise of only a few degrees thus can result in considerably more nitrogen-oxides remaining in the stratosphere, and thus less effective ozone destruction. Recent measurements of the American MLS instrument on the AURA satellite indeed show that there are still nitrogen-oxides present in the stratosphere above Antarctica, unlike previous years.
Late onset of ozone desctruction in 2010
This year’s ozone destruction consequently only started to become visible during September, whereas under normal conditions the first signs already become visible about halfway through August. The observations by SCIAMACHY show that the amount of ozone decreased steadily towards October, but the destruction continued to lag behind that of previous five years. At the beginning of October the amount of ozone destruction was still 40-60% less than in a typical year. In the second half of October the ozone loss became more comparable to previous years. Ozone destruction usually ceases in October after which the ozone hole starts to fill up.

Situation at 2009 December 3British Antarctic Survey Ozone Bulletin

The 2009 ozone hole is essentially over, with most of the continent experiencing a stratospheric spring warming.   The residual vortex is over the Dronning Maud Land and here minimum ozone values are around 240 DU and ozone depletion exceeds 30%.  Ozone values outside the polar vortex have dropped to near 400 DU, and inside the vortex ozone values are rapidly increasing as the atmosphere warms, though the summer circulation is not yet fully established.  The temperature of the ozone layer over Antarctica is now too warm for polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) to form.  During the early winter, the polar vortex was often rather more elliptical than it was in 2008, and this lead to some early depletion in circumpolar regions as stratospheric clouds became exposed to sunlight.   It reverted to a more circular circulation as winter progressed and this led to another relatively slow start to the growth of the ozone hole (as measured by NASA/SBUV2), with the "hole" not beginning until mid August.  The vortex became more elliptical again in late August, with South Georgia being affected by the fringes of the ozone hole between September 2 and 6.  The hole grew to reach an area of around 24 million square kilometres by mid September, and then lasted until the end of November.  From mid August to mid November it remained around the average area seen over the past decade.  The tip of South America and South Georgia were affected by the fringes of the ozone hole from September 24 to September 30, from October 3 to October 7 and from November 8 to 25.  South Georgia was affected on November 6.



In 2009, the ozone hole reached its 10th largest measured size since careful measurements began in 1979.The daily maximum ozone hole area for 2009 was 24 million km2 on 17 September. 

The daily minimum ozone value area for 2009 was 94 DU on 26 September.

NASA Ozone Watch
Situation at 2008 November 21British Antarctic Survey Ozone Bulletin

The 2008 ozone hole season is past its peak and ozone levels over Antarctica are slowly rising, with the ozone hole slowly shrinking.  The polar vortex has been very stable throughout the season, however the final spring warming is expected towards the end of the month.  During its initial stages, the ozone hole was much smaller than has been usual for August, but it grew rapidly as stratospheric clouds were exposed to sunlight.  It covered over 25 million square kilometres in mid September, about the same as last year and remained at around 24 million square kilometres until early October.  It is now around 14  million square kilometres, which is the largest on record for this time of year.  The temperature of the ozone layer over Antarctica is rising as the spring warming takes hold, and is now generally too warm for polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) to continue to exist.  The temperature within the polar vortex is generally a little below the normal.  Ozone values are above 350 DU in parts of the circum-polar regions, which is a bit lower than at this time last year.  Lowest values, near 160 DU, are offset slightly from the pole towards the Weddell Sea.  The vortex briefly showed a more elliptical circulation pattern, and the ozone hole extended over the tip of South America, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia between October 28th and 30th.   PSCs were seen from Rothera on several occasions and also at Halley.

On September 12, 2008, the Antarctic ozone hole reached its maximum size for the year. Represented by blues and purples in this image from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on NASA Aura satellite, the ozone hole covered about 27 million square kilometers, making it larger than North America, which is about 25 million square kilometers. Though larger than it was in 2007, the 2008 ozone hole was still smaller than the record set in 2006. 

Situation at 2007 December 28  British Antarctic Survey Ozone Bulletin The ozone hole of 2007 is over. The temperature of the ozone layer is now highest over Antarctica and cools northwards. It is too warm for polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) to exist. Generally across Antarctica, ozone values are around 300 DU. Values are now slowly dropping towards the normal autumn normal minimum. In general the circum-polar stratospheric vortex was more disturbed this year than it was last year, however there were also periods of stability. Some areas of Antarctica saw ozone values down to ozone hole levels (less than 220 DU) in mid June, suggesting the possibility of early chemical depletion, combined with some dynamic processes. In mid July the minimum temperature of the Antarctic stratosphere at 70 & 50 hPa was close to the normal, although that at 30 hPa was below the normal, and I suggested the likelihood of another strong ozone hole year. Early August saw the largest ozone hole recorded for this time of year, although at the same time very high ozone levels existed over the northern Antarctic Peninsula. The vortex was more circular in mid September but returned to an elliptical shape and initially warmed slowly. In mid September the ozone hole area reached a maximum of just over 24 million square kilometres, but it then slowly shrank as the vortex warmed further. A spring warming took place over the Pacific coast of Antarctica and the Antarctic Peninsula in late October, however this subsided as the ozone hole became more symmetric again. A second major warming took place towards the end of November, but subsided in early December. Around December 8 the ozone hole was briefly the largest on record for the date. The tip of South America and the Falkland Islands saw ozone levels below 250 DU on August 24, with South Georgia experiencing similar levels on September 4. The fringes of the ozone hole were over South Georgia on September 11. The area was intermittently affected from September 22 to October 22, with South Georgia particularly affected on September 25, when values dropped below 175 DU. The Falklands and South Georgia were affected for a final time between November 23 and 25.

Data from NASA's Earth-observing Aura satellite show that the ozone hole peaked in size on Sept. 13,2007 reaching a maximum area extent of 9.7 million square miles(24.7Area (million sq. km)) ­ just larger than the size of North America. That's "pretty average," says Paul Newman, an atmospheric scientist at NASA Goddard Space Fight Center, when compared to the area of ozone holes measured over the last 15 years. Still, the extent this year was "very big," he says, compared to 1970s when the hole did not yet exist.
2007 Climate Prediction Center summary-Extensive ozone depletion was again observed over Antarctica during the Southern Hemisphere winter of 2007, with widespread total ozone anomalies of 45 percent or more below the 1979 to 1986 base period. The area covered by extremely low total ozone values of less than 220 Dobson Units, defined as the Antarctic “Ozone Hole” area, in September reached maximum size of greater than 24 million square kilometers, the 7th largest over all 29 years of continuous satellite monitoring of Antarctic ozone. However, after reaching its maximum size, the Ozone Hole diminished in size such that it was just the 17th largest for the month of October. Vertical profiles of ozone amounts, measured by balloon-sondes over the South Pole, showed near-complete destruction of ozone in the 13 to 21 km region for a relatively short period of time due to the Ozone Hole’s displacement off of the pole towards the Atlantic quadrant. Minimum total ozone values observed at the South Pole were higher than those seen during recent years. Lower stratospheric temperatures over the Antarctic region in the winter of 2007 were again well below -78ºC, and were sufficiently low for polar stratospheric cloud formation, promoting chemical ozone loss. The size of the area of very low temperatures in 2007 was, however, average or below average for the past ten years. The polar vortex persisted until mid-December when it and the remains of the Ozone Hole slowly diminished as the polar circulation changed over into its summer pattern.
3 October2006 World Meteorological Organization This year’s hole in the Antarctic ozone layer was the most serious on record exceeding that of 2000. Not only was it the largest in surface area (matching 2000) but also suffered the most mass deficit, meaning that there was less ozone over the Antarctic than ever previously measured. 

 European Space Agency

Measurements were taken from instruments on both NASA and European Space Agency (ESA) satellites. These are validated by surface based observations of the WMO Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) ozone network. Each agency uses different instruments hence the slightly different values. 
NASA instruments showed that, on 25 September 2006, the area of the hole reached 29.5 million km2, compared to 29.4 million km2 reached in September 2000. 


2006 Climate Prediction Center summary-Very low ozone values were again observed over Antarctica in the winter of 2006. Ozone depletion of more than 45 percent was observed over Antarctica, compared to total ozone amounts observed in the early 1980's. Vertical soundings over the South Pole during August, September and October 2006 again showed strongest destruction of ozone at altitudes between 13 and 21 km. Lower stratosphere temperatures in the winter of 2006 over the Antarctic region were lower than in 2005 and near record levels. Associated with this, the ozone hole was larger than in other years. The ozone hole in 2006 diminished in size and depth along with warming stratospheric conditions in October, and by early December, total ozone over Antarctica had increased to levels above ozone hole values.
The stability of the stratospheric polar vortex structure, which kept it generally centered over the South Pole, and the very persistent, anomalously cold temperatures in the presence of halogen levels that remain at high levels (though no longer at their highest levels) were the prime contributors to the record setting depletion.
2005 Climate Prediction Center summary-In the winter of 2005-2006, positive anomalies of total ozone were prevalent in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere. The positive anomalies in total ozone were associated with the meteorological conditions of positive anomalies of lower stratosphere temperature. Arctic temperatures were not sufficiently low for the formation of polar stratospheric clouds and consequent chemical ozone depletion within the polar vortex. Chlorine and other ozone destroying chemicals in the lower stratosphere reached peak values around 1997-98, and have remained at high levels. Lower stratosphere ozone destruction is strong when meteorological conditions of a strong polar vortex and cold polar temperatures prevail. Those cold conditions were not present in the lower stratosphere in the winter of 2005-2006.
Total ozone declined over mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere at the rate of about 2 to 4 percent per decade from 1979 to 1993. In recent years the strong rate of decline of Northern Hemisphere total ozone has not continued, but current stratospheric ozone amounts continue to be below the amounts measured before the early 1980s. A full explanation of ozone and temperature anomalies must include all aspects of ozone photochemistry and meteorological dynamics. Continued monitoring and measurements are essential toward this end.
2004 Climate Prediction Center summary-Very low ozone values were again observed over Antarctica in the winter/spring of 2004. Ozone depletion of more than 45 percent was observed over Antarctica, compared to total ozone amounts observed in the early 1980's. Vertical soundings over the South Pole during August, September and October 2004 again showed strongest destruction of ozone at altitudes between 15 and 20 km. Lower stratosphere temperatures in the winter of 2004 over the Antarctic region were higher than in 2003. Associated with this, the ozone hole area was smaller than in 2003. The ozone hole in 2004 diminished in size and depth along with warming stratospheric conditions in September and October, and, by mid-November, total ozone over Antarctica had increased to levels above ozone hole values.
Observations of chloroflourocarbons and of stratospheric hydrogen chloride support the view that international actions are reducing the use and release of ozone depleting substances (WMO, 1999; Anderson et al., 2000). However, chemicals already in the atmosphere are expected to continue to impact the ozone amount for many decades to come. Further, changing atmospheric conditions that modulate ozone can complicate the task of detecting the start of ozone layer recovery. The eruption of the Pinatubo volcano provided an example of such a complication in the 1990s. Based on an analysis of 10 years of South Pole ozone vertical profile measurements, Hofmann et al., (1997) estimated that recovery in the Antarctic ozone hole may be detected as early as the coming decade. Indicators include: 1) an end to springtime ozone depletion at 22-24 km, 2) 12-20 km mid-September column ozone loss rate of less than 3 DU per day, and 3) a 12-20 km ozone column of more than 70 DU on September 15. An intriguing aspect of recent observations of the Antarctic stratosphere had been the apparent trend towards a later breakup of the vortex in years since 1990, relative to the 1980s. The limited duration and size of the 2004 ozone hole is attributed in part to meteorological conditions. A full explanation of such meteorological anomalies is not yet available. Continued monitoring and measurements, including total ozone and its vertical profile, are essential to achieving the understanding needed to identify ozone recovery.
2003 Climate Prediction Center summary-Very low ozone values were again observed over Antarctica in the winter/spring of 2003. Ozone depletion of more than 40 percent was observed over Antarctica, compared to total ozone amounts observed in the early 1980's. Vertical soundings over the South Pole during August, September and October 2003 again showed strongest destruction of ozone at altitudes between 15 and 21 km. Lower stratosphere temperatures in the winter of 2003 over the Antarctic region were also much lower than average values. Associated with this, the ozone hole area in August and September was among the largest of any previous year. The ozone hole diminished in October and November along with warming stratospheric conditions. So although the Antarctic ozone hole in 2003 reached unprecedented size, the duration of the extremely low ozone conditions was limited by warmer meteorological conditions which developed in October and November. 
Observations of chloroflourocarbons and of stratospheric hydrogen chloride support the view that international actions are reducing the use and release of ozone depleting substances (WMO, 1999; Anderson et al., 2000). However, chemicals already in the atmosphere are expected to continue to deplete ozone for many decades to come. Further, changing atmospheric conditions that modulate ozone can complicate the task of detecting the start of ozone layer recovery. The eruption of the Pinatubo volcano provided an example of such a complication in the 1990s. Based on an analysis of 10 years of South Pole ozone vertical profile measurements, Hofmann et al., (1997) estimated that recovery in the Antarctic ozone hole may be detected as early as the coming decade. Indicators include: 1) an end to springtime ozone depletion at 22-24 km, 2) 12-20 km mid-September column ozone loss rate of less than 3 DU per day, and 3) a 12-20 km ozone column of more than 70 DU on September 15. An intriguing aspect of recent observations of the Antarctic stratosphere had been the apparent trend towards a later breakup of the vortex in most recent years. The large size of the August-September 2003 ozone hole but its limited duration in October-November is attributed in part to meteorological conditions. A full explanation of such meteorological anomalies is not yet available. Continued monitoring and measurements, including total ozone and its vertical profile, are essential to achieving the understanding needed to identify ozone recovery.
2002 Climate Prediction Center summary-Very low ozone values were observed over Antarctica again in the Southern Hemisphere winter of 2002. Ozone depletion of more than 40 percent was observed over Antarctica compared to total ozone amounts observed in the early 1980's. Vertical soundings over the South Pole during September and October 2002 again showed strong destruction of ozone at altitudes between 15 and 20 km. However, for the year 2002, the ozone hole declined rapidly in late September, and had the shortest duration of any year since 1988. Lower stratosphere temperatures in the winter and spring of 2002 over the Antarctic region were much higher than average values. Associated with this, the ozone hole area was among the smallest of recent years.
Observations of chloroflourocarbons and of stratospheric hydrogen chloride support the view that international actions are reducing the use and release of ozone depleting substances ; Anderson et al., 2000). However, chemicals already in the atmosphere are expected to continue to deplete ozone for many decades to come. Further, changing atmospheric conditions that modulate ozone can complicate the task of detecting the start of ozone layer recovery. The eruption of the Pinatubo volcano provided an example of such a complication in the 1990s. Based on an analysis of 10 years of South Pole ozone vertical profile measurements,  estimated that recovery in the Antarctic ozone hole may be detected as early as the coming decade. Indicators include: 1) an end to springtime ozone depletion at 22-24 km, 2) 12-20 km mid-September column ozone loss rate of less than 3 DU per day, and 3) a 12-20 km ozone column of more than 70 DU on September 15. An intriguing aspect of recent observations of the Antarctic stratosphere had been the apparent trend towards a later breakup of the vortex in most recent years. However, the limited size and duration of the 2002 ozone hole is attributed to highly unusual meteorological conditions this year. A full explanation of such meteorological anomalies is not yet available. Continued monitoring and measurements, including total ozone and its vertical profile, are essential to achieving the understanding needed to identify ozone recovery.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratosphere/winter_bulletins/sh_02/index.html
2001 Climate Prediction Center summary-Very low ozone values were observed over Antarctica again in 2001. Ozone depletion of 10 percent to more than 40 percent was observed over Antarctica compared to total ozone amounts observed in the early 1980's. Vertical soundings over the South Pole during late September and early October 2001 again showed complete destruction of ozone at altitudes between 15 and 20 km. Lower stratosphere temperatures in the winter and spring of 2001 over the Antarctic region were below average values, and were sufficiently low for ozone production of polar stratospheric clouds within the polar vortex. The ozone hole area and the PSC area were again among the largest of all previous years. For the year 2001, the ozone hole and Southern Hemisphere polar vortex persisted into December, again among the longest duration of years since 1982.
Observations of chloroflourocarbons and of stratospheric hydrogen chloride support the view that international actions are reducing the use and release of ozone depleting substances . However, chemicals already in the atmosphere are expected to continue to deplete ozone for many decades to come. Further, changing atmospheric conditions that modulate ozone can complicate the task of detecting the start of ozone layer recovery. The eruption of the Pinatubo volcano provided an example of such a complication in the 1990s. Based on an analysis of 10 years of South Pole ozone vertical profile measurements, estimated that recovery in the Antarctic ozone hole may be detected as early as the coming decade. Indicators include: 1) an end to springtime ozone depletion at 22-24 km, 2) 12-20 km mid-September column ozone loss rate of less than 3 DU per day, and 3) a 12-20 km ozone column of more than 70 DU on September 15. However, an intriguing aspect of recent observations of the Antarctic stratosphere is the apparent trend towards a later breakup of the vortex. A full explanation of such meteorological anomalies is not yet available. Continued monitoring and measurements, including total ozone and its vertical profile, are essential to achieving the understanding needed to identify ozone recovery.
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/stratosphere/winter_bulletins/sh_01/index.html
British Antarctic Survey summary 2000-The 2000 ozone hole reached its greatest extent in early September at 28.4 million square kilometres and was the largest ever-recorded ozone hole.  It reached this maximum extent unusually early, as the hole is normally largest in late September.  Minimum ozone values were measured in early October and were amongst the lowest on record.  The edge of the ozone hole passed over the tip of South America and the Falkland Islands for significant periods between October 6 and 24.  The hole also closed in unusually early and the event was essentially over by early December.  This early closure of the hole is probably linked with the QBO/ENSO and in retrospect was to be expected. 
British Antarctic Survey summary 1999- The ozone layer over Antarctica evolved in a broadly similar way in 1999/2000 to each of the past few years. Significant ozone depletion over Halley had already occurred by late August and maximum depletion, of 60%, occurred in early October. The ozone hole filled rapidly in early December, however a remnant area over central Antarctica, with ozone values below 240 DU, persisted until early February. Ozone values remained at around 255 DU at Halley for the rest of the season (15% below the normal). At Vernadsky ozone values slowly fell from a peak in mid December until the end of March but rose by 30 DU in April. Stratospheric temperatures at Halley remained below the normal from late September until early April.
British Antarctic Survey summary 1998-The 1998 Antarctic ozone hole was broadly similar to those seen in recent years, although a little larger and a little longer lasting. At Halley the final spring warming did not take place until late December and a remnant of the ozone hole passed over the station in late January.
Mean total ozone values declined from around 260 DU in early August to a minimum of 120 DU in early October at a rate of around 3 DU per day. They rose a little, but oscillated around 180 DU from late October until the final warming began in early December. Peak ozone values of around 290 DU occurred in late December, but this was nearly a month later and 25% lower than the historical maximum. Values slowly declined from this peak through the rest of the summer. Unusually low ozone values and 100 hPa temperatures were recorded around January 21 when a remnant of the ozone hole passed over the station. Autumn values were around 260 DU, some 15% below normal.
British Antarctic Survey summary 1997-Overall the 1997/98 ozone season was comparable to those of recent years, with minimum ozone values of around 110 DU at Halley. The spring warming took place slightly earlier than in the past two years, leading to a higher annual mean. The January and February means for Vernadsky were the lowest on record. The 100 hPa temperature over Halley and Vernadsky was below the long term mean for most of the season.Total ozone values fell from an estimated 300 DU in early July to around 200 DU in mid August. Values rose to around 240 DU towards the end of August but then steadily fell to reach 115 DU in early October. Ozone values rose to around 160 DU late in October and remained near this value until mid November when the spring warming started. Values peaked at just under 300 DU in early December, compared to the long term mean peak of 380 DU. Summer values declined to a plateau in early January at around 260 DU. Daily variation began to increase at the beginning of March, although mean values have changed little. Ozone values remained significantly below the long term mean throughout the year.
British Antarctic Survey summary 1996-Routine ozone measurements from Halley station do not start until towards the end of August because the sun is not high enough to permit measurements. Mean total ozone values fell from an estimated 260 DU in early July to around 140 DU in mid September and then declined more slowly to reach 125 DU in early October. They climbed to around 180 DU by late October, but remained at that level throughout November. In early December, ozone levels began to rise and reached a peak of around 300 DU late in the month. This is some 80 DU lower than the pre-ozone hole average peak value. After that, values slowly declined and had reached around 230 DU by the end of the season. Values only briefly exceeded the lower bound of the variation from the long-term mean late in the season. The lowest mean daily value seen (114 DU on October 8) is comparable to that of the previous few years.
British Antarctic Survey summary 1995-Preliminary mean daily ozone values dropped from values of around 280 Dobson Units (DU) at the beginning of August to around 175 DU at the end of September (50% depletion). Individual daily values dropped as low as 132 DU. The first week of October saw a major spring warming event, with a rise in mean total ozone to over 300 DU as the circumpolar high ozone belt moved across the station. Mean values then fell back to around 190 DU in mid October before rising again to over 300 DU in a second warming event at the end of October. Mean values dropped back again to 200 DU in early November before slowly rising to around 315 DU in the final warming event of the year in mid December. Values slowly declined from the December peak to around 260 DU at the end of April.
Generally values in the 95/96 season were a little above those reached in 1993 and 1994 during the first half of the season and below during the second half. The final spring warming was much later than in either year. Values were significantly below those of the long term mean throughout the season.
British Antarctic Survey summary 1994-Preliminary mean ozone values from Faraday show that mean ozone values at the end of the winter were around 290 DU dropping to a minimum of around 160 DU by mid October (55% depletion). This is the steepest decline recorded at this station, and the minimum mean values were about 40 DU below those at the same time last year. The mean for September is the lowest September mean recorded at the station; 133 DU recorded at the end of the month is the lowest ever September mean daily value. Individual values of 130 DU in early October represent nearly 65% depletion and are the second lowest on record for the station. A strong spring warming episode occurred between October 20th and 28th, with a very rapid rise to 400 DU on October 22nd; this is the earliest the warming has occurred for several years and is also the steepest rise (some 250 DU in three days). Following the event mean values dropped to 180 DU (50% depletion), and then slowly rose again, reaching 230 DU by November 23rd. The final spring warming occurred between November 21st and 23rd with mean ozone values rising rapidly to around 340 DU by the end of November. The November monthly mean is the second lowest on record. Values in early December were near normal at around 360 DU, but were generally below normal throughout the late summer and autumn.
Preliminary ozone measurements from Halley show that mean ozone values dropped from around 180 DU at the end of August to 105 DU in early October (65% depletion), then slowly rose to reach 160 DU by November 7th. A minor peak occurred between November 7th and 17th, with a maximum of 230 DU on the 11th, followed by a decline to 185 DU. The spring warming commenced on November 24th with ozone levels peaking at around 350 DU in late November and then slowly declining. The monthly means for September and October are between those of 1992 and 1993. Mean values throughout the summer and autumn were significantly below those of the long term mean and throughout the season no daily values exceeded those of the long term mean.
The data from 1956 - 1994 suggest that the mean for October 1995 will be around 120 DU, with minimum values below 100 DU.
The temperature at 100 hPa rose slowly from the winter value of around -82 deg C in early October to reach -67 deg C by November 22nd (some 15 degrees below normal). The final warming then took place with the temperature reaching near normal values of around -40 deg C by the end of the month. The temperature then slowly declined, reaching -60 deg C by the end of April.
The ozone values from Halley and Faraday are consistent with a hole of greater maximum extent than in 1993, but slightly shallower. NASA GSFC images from Meteor-3/TOMS and radiosonde data suggest that the edge of the hole was over the tip of South America and the Falkland Islands between October 11th and 21st, and was close to the region between October 29th and November 13th. The Falkland Islands now consider the ozone hole a major threat to health following cases of severe sunburn during this event.
British Antarctic Survey summary 1993-Preliminary ozone values from the British Antarctic Survey Faraday station (65 south, 64 west on the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula) show running average ozone values dropping from around 280 DU at the begining of September to around 200 DU at the month's end. There is considerable day to day variation. Data from our long term record for the station indicate normal values of around 330 DU for this period (with a range of 280 DU to 380 DU). This year's mean September ozone value is 245 DU, giving a reduction of about 25%. The minimum September daily mean value of 142 DU on September 28th is the lowest ever recorded at Faraday (next lowest 145 DU in 1992).
Preliminary ozone values from the British Antarctic Survey Halley station (76 south, 26 west on the Brunt ice shelf) show mean ozone values dropping from around 210 DU in early September to around 110 DU in early October. Data from our long term record for the station indicate normal values of around 300 DU for this period (with a range of 260 DU to 340 DU). This year's mean September ozone value of 159 DU is the second lowest recorded at Halley (lowest 146 DU in 1992), giving a reduction of around 35%. The minimum September daily mean value of 108 DU on September 30 is the lowest recorded at Halley (next lowest 111 DU in 1992). Ozone levels in early October are the lowest ever recorded with depletion exceeding two thirds.
This year's Antarctic ozone hole (1993) is the deepest ever. Scientists of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) at Halley Research Station in Antarctica have recorded their lowest ever value of ozone, showing that over two-thirds of the protective ozone shield has been destroyed. Less than one- third remains intact, and the depletion phase may not be over for some days yet. BAS scientists at Faraday Research Station, normally near the edge of the ozone hole, have also measured record low values of ozone for their station.
The Antarctic ozone hole is an annual phenomenon which has occurred in every (southern hemisphere) spring since the late 1970s. It is caused by the chemical action of chlorine and bromine released from man-made chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and halons. Thanks to the international Montreal Protocol, the annual production of these substances is now less than before, but the total amount in the atmosphere continues to rise, dashing hopes of an early recovery for the ozone layer. The CFCs are not expected to reach their maximum concentration in the atmosphere until around the turn of the century, so the Antarctic ozone hole may continue to worsen until then.
BAS scientists have been measuring ozone in Antarctica on a daily basis since 1957. There was no ozone hole at all until the late 1970s. The Antarctic ozone layer is not expected to return to normal until the 2070s.