Chapter 2, Problem 128E

A NASA satellite showed that in 2012 the ozone hole over Antarctica had a maximum surface area of 21.2 million km². The largest ozone hole on record occurred in 2006 and had a surface area of 29.6 million km². Calculate the difference in diameter (in meters) between the ozone hole in 2012 and in 2006.

A layer ozone gas (a form of oxygen) in the upper atmosphere protects Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation in sunlight. Human-made chemicals react with the ozone and deplete it, especially over the Antarctic at certain times of the year (the so-called ozone hole).The region of low-ozone concentration in 2006 (represented here by the dark purple color) was the largest on record.