Australian Wildfires Depleted the Ozone Layer in a Variety of Ways, According to New Article
A UMD alum and professor co-authored a paper about the reduction in the thickness of Earth's protective ozone layer that followed the Australian wildfires
The 2019-2020 wildfires in southeastern Australia killed at least 33 people and more than 1 billion animals, and their long-term environmental effects are still being studied. Researchers agree that these wildfires thinned the Earth’s ozone layer, but how exactly they did so is still a matter of some debate. Following their novel research into the effects of the Australian wildfires on the ozone layer, two University of Maryland-affiliated researchers set out to explain the mechanisms responsible for these atmospheric impacts. University of Maryland alumna Laura McBride (Ph.D ’22, chemistry) and Ross Salawitch, a professor at UMD's Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC), as well as the Departments of Atmospheric & Oceanic Science and Chemistry & Biochemistry, published their perspective in Science on Nov. 24, 2022.
