Natural Variation of Ozone Depletion as Affected by Ozone Thinning

If the ozone layer were to thin in the northern hemisphere (to date there has been no significant thinning), the thinning would occur in magnitude and timing as depicted in the crosshatched areas in the curves above. Since the greatest thickness occurs at the north pole in February and March, even the maximum projected 10 percent thinning at the north pole would still leave more ozone protecting Eskimoes and polar bears than vacationers sunning themselves on the Florida beaches where there is naturally far less ozone and no ozone thinning at all! Not only would the sunbathers in southern Florida have 25 percent less ozone protecting them than their unfortunate neighbors they left behind in Boston, they would actually receive nearly 250 percent more ultraviolet radiation than their frozen Bostonian friends due to the combined effect of less natural ozone protection plus the higher angle of solar radiation as it penetrates the earth's atmosphere. The further south you go, the higher the angle of solar incidence relative to the ozone layer and the less ozone it has to travel through to get absorbed. In summary, most thinning (if it were to occur) would occur in the arctic circle during the winter months when the natural ozone layer is maximum. Ozone thickness thins radically going from north to south during the winter and from winter to summer. Natural variation of ozone thickness and UV exposure poses far, far greater risks of skin cancer and crop damage than ozone thinning ever would.