Question

The Environment Ministry of Greenistan comes with a proposal to pump more ozone in the atmosphere in an attempt to fill ozone holes artificially. Is this is an economically viable venture?

• A. No, this will lead to atmospheric imbalance and reduce Oxygen availability
• B. Yes, the new ozone will be able to permanently fill the holes and prevent further damage
• C. No, because the ozone hole naturally refills with ozone periodically
• D. Yes, because the rate of natural formation of ozone is very low

Answer 1

The correct option is C No, because the ozone hole naturally refills with ozone periodically

Ozone in the troposphere doesn't last long (about three weeks). If you pump a lot of ozone up there, it would all be gone in a month. The ozone layer isn't a static system. Ozone is continuously formed and destroyed by light from the sun and chemical reactions. Light from the sun at one set of wavelengths initiates chemical reactions that cause the formation of ozone. Light from the sun at a different set of wavelengths and other chemical reactions destroys ozone (such as from CFCs, but also other naturally occurring chemical species such as NO).

It would take vast amounts of energy to pump more ozone into the stratosphere, and it would have to be done continuously. And it's likely to have other knock-on climatological effects, including (ironically) increased global warming.
Since the Montreal Protocols curbed emissions of chlorofluorocarbons and other compounds that attack ozone, the ozone hole will naturally refill with ozone, albeit at a slow pace. It's expected to fully recover by the time our grandchildren are adults.