Does the ozone layer comes down during night?

Question

Does the ozone layer comes down during night?

Answer 1

Jello is completely wrong about atmospheric AM radio propagation.  The reason AM transmits farther at night has to do with the ionosphere, not the stratosphere.

http://www.fcc.gov/mb/audio/bickel/dayti...

The ionosphere is far far above the ozone layer in the stratosphere:

http://www.haarp.alaska.edu/haarp/ion1.h...

oops, forgot to answer the question, the answer is that diurnal cycling in the tropopause altitude is not significant relative to tropopause variation caused by synoptic weather patterns.  There are diurnal variations in stratospheric ozone concentrations, but those are related to photochemical effects rather than changes in elevation of the ozone layer:

http://stinet.dtic.mil/oai/oai?verb=getR...

Ozone forms in the troposphere in the daytime due to photochemistry (although a different photochemical pathway that produces stratospheric ozone), but this is not stratospheric ozone.  There is very little exchange of air between the stratosphere and troposphere on average.

Edit:  Rick, much as I am willing to believe anything I read, it is hard to reconcile statements such as yours about there being no such thing as an ozone layer with figures like this:

http://ozonewatch.gsfc.nasa.gov/facts/oz...

which are derived from data like these:

http://www.esrl.noaa.gov/gmd/publication...

Also,

http://www.theozonehole.com/twentyyear.h...

Answer 2

Yes - This is what causes lower radio frequencies like the AM band to skip long distances.

This is why it's easy to pick up a Boston radio station at night when you're in Chicago.

Answer 3

Kind of the opposite of CO2 which miraculously rises and establishes a thermal barrier, just to create global warming.  That's why according to Wiki-poodles, that it gets hotter at night than in the daytime and they want peer reviewed scientific reports that proves the sun warms us.

Answer 4

There is no Ozone "Layer" - it is present in all atmospheric levels.

This web page shows some good information - but a lot of scientific double talk.:

http://www.nas.nasa.gov/About/Education/...

Most of the web page is filled with conjecture - however item #4 is VERY Important and accurate.  Ozone is CREATED by UV (in a self regulating manner) as well as by lightening storms.

"4. Sunspot cycle: ozone is created by solar UV radiation. The amount of UV radiation produced by the sun is not constant but varies by several percent in a rougly 11year cycle. This 11year cycle is related to magnetic changes within the sun which increase the solar UV output, and is heralded by an increase sunspots which appear on the surface of the sun. Comparisons of yearly ozone concentrations show a small 11 year variation in global ozone of about 2%. Episodes of unusual solar activity, solar storms and large solar flares, could certainly alter this value.

So Ozone will dissapate or some will fall at night = No UV.

This shows the Ozone "Hole" opening and closing with the seasons - NO UV = NO OZONE

http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/eptoms/dataqua...

Just like it has for millions of years.

Answer 5

Interesting question.  Apparently some suggest we don't really know its altitude very exactly in the first place.

Answer 6

No