Equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine the late 1990s and is now slowly decreasing. Equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine Equivalent effective stratospheric chlorine (EESC) provides an estimate of the total effective amount of halogens (chlorine and bromine) in the stratosphere. It is calculated from emission of chlorofluorocarbon and related halogenated compounds into the troposphere (lower atmosphere) and their efficiency in contributing to stratospheric ozone depletion (ozone depletion potential, ODP), and by making assumptions on transport times into the upper atmosphere (stratosphere). This parameter is used to quantify man-made ozone depletion and its changes with time. As a consequence of the Montreal Protocol and its amendments phasing out
Ozone depletion ozone destruction in the lower stratosphere. A single chlorine atom would continuously destroy ozone (thus a catalyst) for up to two years (the time scale for transport back down to the troposphere) were it not for reactions that remove them from this cycle by forming reservoir species such as hydrogen chloride (HCl) and chlorine nitrate (). Bromine is even more efficient than chlorine at destroying ozone on a per atom basis, but there is much less bromine in the atmosphere at present. Both chlorine and bromine contribute significantly to overall ozone depletion. Laboratory studies have also shown that fluorine and