Derin Cag
How Earth Could Become Like Mars Sooner Than We Think
@DerinCag
Discover why the ozone hole over the Arctic could turn Earth into a Mars-like planet sooner than we think
First, we must understand planetary science to begin to understand climate change, especially when making educated guesses and informed choices about the future. Some scientific theories explore how CO2 gases could be getting trapped in the stratosphere of the slowest moving parts of Earth thus intensifying the growth of holes within the ozone layer.
The world spins at around 650 miles (more than 1,000 kilometres) per hour in London, UK. It turns the fastest at about 1,000 miles (around 1,600 kilometres) per hour in the mid-latitudes of Earth, at the equator. The peculiar discovery is that the world spins at nearly 0 miles/kilometres per hour at the top and the bottom of Earth, where the North and South Poles exist.
Another interesting fact is that the Earth also shakes and wobbles, which induces earthquakes and volcanoes amongst other geomagnetic activities.
What does the Earth's rotation have to do with climate change?
Science has proved that there is a hole within the ozone in Antarctic. This anomaly was caused and grew by 15.4 million square miles in September 2020. The ozone hole has been growing year on year since the 1960s. The hole over Antarctica's ozone layer closes for a few months each year, however in December 2020, it closed for less than three months, this was the shortest recorded in History.
As the world spins, it could be causing the CO2 gases in the stratosphere to occupy the slowest spinning regions of Earth. This settlement in gases then changes the temperature in the stratosphere.
The breakdown of the ozone layer is related to the temperature in the stratosphere. There is already a multinational agreement called the Montreal Protocol to ban halocarbons and save the ozone layer. However, the protocol does not extend to other carbon dioxides such as those generated by burning fossil fuels.
There is also a similar anomaly over parts of the South American continent, dubbed the South Atlantic Anomaly. As this region is more broadly populated than the South Pole, some of its impacts on human health could be better understood. The consequences include respiratory problems, climate change, cortical cataracts, and skin cancer —to name a few. Additionally, these growing weak spots in the ozone layer could pose an existential risk to life if hit by a large Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) from the sun or other stars. Such events could also increase regional electricity blackouts and impact climatic patterns as a result.
The theory then is, if these holes within the ozone layer continue to grow and last longer at an accelerated pace because of human actions, eventually it could lead to a permanent hole over the entirety of Earth and lead to the deterraformation of our planet. Such an event would then render Earth like Mars.
Conclusion: Mitigating ozone depletion
Often the worst dangers to the world come from humans. We can see this notion in action when we read about pollution. We could also consider the possibility of nuclear war. Unseen and indirect human impacts take longer to notice, most often under the umbrella of climate change, which could be more detrimental than the direct human impacts if we fail to see them on time.
Increasing stratospheric anomalies triggered by human activities might cause deterraformation and global radioactivity to happen sooner than we think. As a result, this area of study calls for more urgent scientific research to prove or disprove this theory about a permanent hole in the making.
According to the UK's Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA): "Without this ozone layer, life on Earth would not have evolved in the way it has".
The boundary layer of Earth's upper atmosphere acts as a safeguard against hazardous levels of radiation. Our stratosphere, which other planets lack, protects us from the dangers of the solar system, such as cosmic rays. Many spacecraft that fly over the anomalies have glitches or complete systematic failure. On a regular basis, even the International Space Station is affected by the South Atlantic Anomaly when passing through it.
The least we could do as a human collective is to study further the CO2 levels in the stratosphere and troposphere. Scientists can then compare the data based on regions worldwide and determine which gases are the most, where they are the most, and why this is the case.
One must not overlook this topic; it is imperative to learn how much humans impact our planet on every level and mitigate catastrophic risks over the long term. We owe it not only to humanity but to all living creatures on planet Earth.
Derin Cag is a leading content specialist, visionary, thought leader, and journalist with a speciality in business, fintech, and sustainability. Derin has interviewed many world leaders and his past works have got mentioned by the University of Cambridge, Harvard Business School, Inc Magazine and many others.
