What is Ozone?

What is Ozone?

When you hear about too much ozone does it have you wondering what all the fuss is about?

The ozone that you are probably most familiar with is in the stratosphere which resides just above the lower level of the atmosphere where all the weather takes place called the troposphere.

The troposphere has large temperature contrasts as it is warmer at the lower levels of the atmosphere but higher in the upper levels of the atmosphere but the stratified in temperature, with warmer layers higher up and cooler layers farther down. According the the EPA ozone (O ₃) is a gas composed of three oxygen atoms. It is not usually emitted directly into the air, but at ground-level is created by a chemical reaction between oxides of nitrogen ( NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Ozone has the same chemical structure whether it occurs miles above the earth or at ground-level and can be "good" or "bad," depending on its location in the atmosphere.

The EPA further goes on to say that ground level ozone is considered 'bad' ozone. Motor vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents as well as natural sources emit NOx and VOC that help form ozone. Ground-level ozone is the primary constituent of smog. Sunlight and hot weather cause ground-level ozone to form in harmful concentrations in the air. As a result, it is known as a summertime air pollutant. Many urban areas tend to have high levels of "bad" ozone, but even rural areas are also subject to increased ozone levels because wind carries ozone and pollutants that form it hundreds of miles away from their original sources.

Find out more about ozone levels with these web sites EPA Website ,  Current Ozone Levels  What is ground level ozone      IDEM site Ozone