Ozone layer an altitude of 100 kilometers from the planet's surface. The photochemical mechanisms that give rise to the ozone layer were discovered by the British physicist Sydney Chapman in 1930. Ozone in the Earth's stratosphere is created by ultraviolet light striking ordinary oxygen molecules containing two oxygen atoms (O), splitting them into individual oxygen atoms (atomic oxygen); the atomic oxygen then combines with unbroken O to create ozone, O. The ozone molecule is unstable (although, in the stratosphere, long-lived) and when ultraviolet light hits ozone it splits into a molecule of O and an individual atom of oxygen, a continuing process
Ozone Action Day Ozone Action Day An Ozone Action Day, which can be declared by a local municipality, country or state, is observed at certain times during the summer months, when weather conditions (such as heat, humidity, and air stagnation) run the risk of causing health problems. Ozone Action Days, alternately called an "Ozone Alert" or a "Clean Air Alert", primarily center in the midwestern portion of the United States; particularly in well-urbanized areas such as Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and Indianapolis. Although the ozone found at the Earth's surface is the same chemical species as that found in the ozone layer, they have