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Not Just About Sunburn - The Ozone Hole's Profound Effect On Climate Has Significant Implications For Southern Hemisphere Ecosystems, Sharon A. Robinson, David J. Erickson

Faculty of Science, Medicine and Health - Papers: part A

Climate scientists have concluded that stratospheric ozone depletion has been a major driver of Southern Hemisphere climate processes since about 1980. The implications of these observed and modelled changes in climate are likely to be far more pervasive for both terrestrial and marine ecosystems than the increase in ultraviolet-B radiation due to ozone depletion; however, they have been largely overlooked in the biological literature. Here, we synthesize the current understanding of how ozone depletion has impacted Southern Hemisphere climate and highlight the relatively few documented impacts on terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Reviewing the climate literature, we present examples of how …