Study: Small Nuclear War Would Shred Ozone

Massive Fires From Even Limited Conflicts Could Devastate Atmosphere, Scientists Say

(AP)  American scientists have determined that a regional nuclear war would put the world in havoc for at least a decade by shredding large areas of Earth's protective ozone layer.

The countries involved would be devastated as well as fall victim to the ozone disaster, the scientists' analysis says.

Massive fires resulting from even a limited conflict would blast enough soot into the atmosphere to create an ozone hole over heavily populated areas, the researchers warned in a paper published Monday in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A region of depleted ozone over the Antarctic, known as an ozone hole, has been a worry to scientists for years as it allows damaging ultraviolet radiation from the sun to reach Earth's surface. Some chemicals have been banned from use to help eliminate that hole.

Unlike the Antarctic, a nuclear-induced ozone hole would affect much of the world, causing damage to plants and animals and adding to skin cancer, eye damage and other effects in millions of people, according to researchers led by Michael J. Mills of the University of Colorado.

Mills' team used complex computer programs to model what would happen in the atmosphere in the event of a war between India and Pakistan in which each detonated 50 Hiroshima-sized nuclear explosives.

They calculated that the blasts would send as much as five million metric tons of soot as high as 50 miles into the atmosphere.

The soot and the heat from solar radiation would cause a series of chemical reactions that would break down the stratospheric ozone layer that protects Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation, they said.

"We would see a dramatic drop in ozone levels that would persist for many years," Mills said in a statement. "At mid-latitudes the ozone decrease would be up to 40 percent, which could have huge effects on human health and on terrestrial, aquatic and marine ecosystems."

They calculated that a 40 percent ozone decrease would result in a 132 percent increase in light damage to plants and a 213 percent increase in DNA damage associated with skin cancer.

The mid-latitudes are the regions between the tropics and the Arctic and are home to the largest numbers of people.

[jumkey]

Well, let''s have one then.

We''ve been angling for Israel to have a nuclear confrontation with Iran for years now (or has Israel been angling for it? either way, no matter). And we already have a well-establish global warming denying infrastructure in place as well as the requisite sociopaths in power to do it.

Genocide AND global environmental damage - it''s a conservative Republican wet dream. They''ll do it just to show the CAN, that''s how perverse these nutjobs are.

[missingamerica]

Genocide AND global environmental damage - it''s a conservative Republican wet dream. They''''ll do it just to show the CAN, that''''s how perverse these nutjobs are.

Posted by jumkey at 11:06 AM : Apr 08, 2008

The sad thing is half or more of the Republicans will get all suicidal when Jesus doesn''t show up to rescue them from the consequences of their arrogance.

[missingamerica]

lollll...CBS is simultaneously running a story about Iran "touting its nuclear advances".

Gee, are we priming the pump for an invasion of Iran?

[naucoming4u]

OH MY GOD!!!

Wow, I''m tellin ya.... when a nuclear war breaks out... my first concern will be about the environment and all those pretty trees and flowers and how they will die a needless death!


N O T !

[glock4me]

Seems like the US, USSR, China, France, UK have done enough atmospheric testing from 1945-1975 (or so) to either prove or disprove this theory... assuming that someone was monitoring the atmosphere. Those were some pretty big bombs in the 1950s and 1960s (when poor guidance systems were compensated with large yields), but we''re still here.

Coppertone save us!!!

[connapa]

Yes, both the US and the former USSR did a large number of above ground testing in the early days.Fortunately (to use the term loosely) they were done over either ocean or in desert areas where there weren''t a whole lot of flammable things (trees, plants, houses, people.) Its the resultant ashes from burned life forms which will cause the destruction of the ozone, not the kilotonnage or megatonnage of the explosive devices themselves.

[Syndicate]

My god environmental scientist say the dumbest things. If the sky is filled with soot do you need an ozone layer? No. Why do they never tell you how Ozone is made? Well its made from the interaction of UV light with oxygen. So if you have a hole and more UV light gets through to the oxygen it makes more ozone and pluggs the hole. As if nuclear war wasn''t enough deterant.

[truth-hurts]

Obama voted yes on the Cheney Energy Bill which paves the way for 29 new Nuclear Energy Plants to be built in the United States.

[glock4me]

Yes, both the US and the former USSR did a large number of above ground testing in the early days.Fortunately (to use the term loosely) they were done over either ocean or in desert areas where there weren''''t a whole lot of flammable things (trees, plants, houses, people.) Its the resultant ashes from burned life forms which will cause the destruction of the ozone, not the kilotonnage or megatonnage of the explosive devices themselves.


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Posted by connapa at 12:04 PM : Apr 08, 2008

connapa, that makes sense. I guess most of those tests were in places like the Bikini atoll... and I guess events like Hiroshima and Nagasaki the Japanese wouldn''t have cooperated with an effort to monitor the atmoshpere. Still, this prediction would be a lot more effective if there were some such proof.

I fear that one day in our lifetimes we will have our proof (India/Pakistan, Iran/Israel, North Korea/??).

[skyk-2009]

My god environmental scientist say the dumbest things. If the sky is filled with soot do you need an ozone layer? No. Why do they never tell you how Ozone is made? Well its made from the interaction of UV light with oxygen. So if you have a hole and more UV light gets through to the oxygen it makes more ozone and pluggs the hole. As if nuclear war wasn''''t enough deterant.


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Posted by cbscrash07 at 12:06 PM : Apr 08, 2008
+ report abuse

What did you do with your time in SCIENCE Class? Honestly my friend I have taught some of the dumbest kids on this planet and YOU contend with them very well. Any 6th grader will tell you that soot will NOT block the harmful UV rays that cause the problems! You know Education is NOT a bad word!

[gwagener]

My god environmental scientist say the dumbest things. If the sky is filled with soot do you need an ozone layer? No. Why do they never tell you how Ozone is made? Well its made from the interaction of UV light with oxygen. So if you have a hole and more UV light gets through to the oxygen it makes more ozone and plugs the hole.
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Posted by cbscrash07 at 12:06 PM : Apr 08, 2008

It is easy to call something dumb when you do not have the education to understand it. I will try to keep this simple.
The soot in the sky would block the visible light to some extent, but would do little to block the UV. Certain frequencies of light can penetrate one material easily and not be able to pass through another. So a sky of soot with no ozone would pass UV down to the ground. Yes, more UV in the lower atmosphere would mean more ozone created, but the old ozone and new ozone react with the soot in the upper atmosphere and become other molecules that do not absorb UV. It would take a long time for the ozone to be restored.
It always shocks me how many people with a high school education think they know better than phds.

[hoosiermoon]

I suspect there is a much better chance that Israel will use nukes against Iran than there is of India duking it out with Pakistan. Israel has the big ones. Not the WWII style Iran is trying to build. And if someone is stupid enough to provoke Israel into using them, they might not stop until they''ve eliminated everyone that ever threatened them.

[rational_1]

Obama voted yes on the Cheney Energy Bill which paves the way for 29 new Nuclear Energy Plants to be built in the United States.
Posted by truth-hurts at 12:08 PM : Apr 08, 2008

When was the last time you heard of a nuclear power plant detonating and sending millions of tons of soot into the air? What''s your point?

[gwagener]

My god environmental scientist say the dumbest things. If the sky is filled with soot do you need an ozone layer? No.
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Posted by cbscrash07 at 12:06 PM : Apr 08, 2008

I thought of some examoples that might make this concept understanable to those of lesser education.
You should know you can get a sun burn on a cloudy day. That is because the UV passes through the cloud while the visible light is absorbed, just as it would be with the soot, except with more UV dud to no ozone.
Another example, consider three pairs of glasses. One is a clear pair of prescription lenses that has a UV coating. The lenses block most of the UV, but pass all the visible light. The second pair is sunglasses with a UV coating and the third pair is sunglasses with no UV coating. The second pair blocks most of the UV and most of the visible light, like the atmosphere on a cloudy day. The third pair blocks visible light, but passes the UV, like the atmosphere with no ozone and lots of soot.
The point of all this is that a regional nuclear war (say India and Pakistan for example) may have severe consequences all over the world. So we have an added incentive to try to avoid such a war.

[usbrit-2009]

Posted by gwagener - GW, do you think that cbscrash07 might be Steven Milloy, the guy who wites the Junk Science column for FOX. They seem to have interchangeable views on global warming and all other thing environmental.

[MIpapaof4]

gwagener can''t even spell, and we are supposed to believe this nut case? Education is not a bad word gwagener. Where were you in spelling class? Where were you in science class? What a dumb a$$

[gwagener]

Posted by gwagener - GW, do you think that cbscrash07 might be Steven Milloy, the guy who wites the Junk Science column for FOX. They seem to have interchangeable views on global warming and all other thing environmental.
---------------------------------
Posted by USBrit at 01:28 PM : Apr 08, 2008

There are plently of people who scoff at anything environmental scientist say.

[gwagener]

gwagener can''''t even spell, and we are supposed to believe this nut case? Education is not a bad word gwagener. Where were you in spelling class? Where were you in science class?
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Posted by MIpapaof4 at 01:57 PM : Apr 08, 2008

True enough that I cannot spell very well. I think Mark Twain said something like it takes a very unimaginitive mind to think of only one way to spell something. I maintain it is the English language that is messed up, not me. I am systematic and logical. English uses spelling rules from many languages and has no reason to it. Any combination of vowels can have any pronunciation. I''m also a poor typist.
I have a BS in Physics and an MS in electrical engineering. I was explaining some concepts on absorbtion of UV and visible light. That does not mean that I accept this study is correct. But it cannot be dismissed simply because people like cbscrash07 do not understand that soot is not a good UV shield. Would exploding a few nuclear weapons really have a big effect on the environment? I say, we should not try that test. I do, on the other hand, believe that man would survive a global thermal nuclear war and nuclear winter. The few survivers could make green houses and use sun lamps and such. I also think that is an experiment we should not try.

[gwagener]

gwagener can''t even spell... Where were you in science class?
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Posted by MIpapaof4 at 01:57 PM : Apr 08, 2008

Oh, by the way, I was got A''s in scince class.

[gwagener]

gwagener can''''t even spell... Where were you in science class?
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nPosted by MIpapaof4 at 01:57 PM : Apr 08, 2008

Excuse me. Sometimes my grammar gets messed up when I revise a sentence.
Oh, by the way, I got A''s in scince class.

[rf35]

Don''t worry, people like Hawksprings have told us that nothing man does can change the atmosphere, remember?

[bgwinnett]

Didn''t they say this before the Trinity Test in 45.

[truthspeake2]

Obama voted yes on the Cheney Energy Bill which paves the way for 29 new Nuclear Energy Plants to be built in the United States.
Posted by truth-hurts at 12:08 PM : Apr 08, 2008

When was the last time you heard of a nuclear power plant detonating and sending millions of tons of soot into the air? What''''s your point?
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Posted by rational_1 at 01:23 PM : Apr 08, 2008


Unfortunately, this idiots point was to bash Obama. This moron''s candidate of choice probably can''t even spell Nuclear. This a$$ hole couldn''t find any other place to post his hateful derogatory comments but here...and note that they only posted a so called position/vote for one presidential candidate. Amazing...but quite predictible!

[mike71067]

Great. Just when I finally had a day where everything was going right. Now I learn that nuclear war causes skin cancer. Bummer.

[trglazier]

To think I was worried about 3rd degree burns, mass radiation poisoning, and genocide ...

[jumkey]

"And if someone is stupid enough to provoke Israel into using them, they might not stop until they''''ve eliminated everyone that ever threatened them."

Posted by HoosierMoon

You mean until WE''VE eliminated anyone who threatens them. Israel doesn''t have the resources to "eliminate" anyone without our support. Again it''s an open question of whether we''re driving Israel''s agenda or they''re driving our - but we seem to be unable to separate their interests from our.

And no one is provoking Israel, unless you define provocation or arming in self-defense as simply existing.

[tonic1661]

Has there ever been a greater reason for diplomacy not war.

Please vote for a no war candidate.

Obama wants to bring in NATO and the UNITED NATIONS peace keeping forces while using diplomacy.

[byeneocons]

Oh no. The neocons like to see the environment shredded. Now they''re going to sing "Nuke Iran" instead of "Bomb Iran."

[docofthebay]

Ah, well, here''s ANOTHER ozone scare. How about: it would be the single most horrifying and civilization threatening event know to modern mankind to detonate even ONE nuke anywhere...isn''t THAT good enough for some of these sick power mongering monsters???

[docofthebay]

Obama wants to bring in NATO and the UNITED NATIONS peace keeping forces while using diplomacy.
Posted by tonic1661

When should ANY of these organizations give a rats a$$ about the US? They have been shoved away with GW''s middle finger rammed up their a$$es since the invasion began (against the entire planet and US citizens objections).

[mjvw2]

Israel doesn''''t have the resources to "eliminate" anyone without our support.
Posted by jumkey at 02:56 PM : Apr 08, 2008

what rock have you been under?

[erasmus6]

"...isn''''t THAT good enough for some of these sick power mongering monsters???" Posted by DocOfTheBay

Nope.

[prairiefox1]

THERE IS YOUR CALLING! AL GORE NOW KNOWS WHERE TO START AND IF HE ACCOMPLISHES THE TOTAL DESTRUCTION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS THEN THE REST WILL BE EASY!
NOW!!! YOU KNOW WHERE TO START!
WE WILL BE WATCHING INTENTLY!

[mudrose-2009]

Go Bore! You get over to Iran and tell him that he will accelerate global warming big time and you will sit on him if he doesn''t adhere to your inconvenient truth.

[quetzal0666]

I Guess the people of Isreal need to invest in a giant umbrella,
more than likely the huge ozone hole will be directly over them.......

[stn_sage]

Well, I hope Mr. Mills sends a certified copy of the results of his teams'' study to Mr. Bush.

More significantly, I hope someone there at the White House bothers to read it!

[tomanyt]

Study: Small Nuclear War Would Shred Ozone
No seriously. We needed a study to tell us that? Seems like common sense to me.

[oleander8]

...not to mention all the above ground nuclear testing that has gone on all over the globe since WWII.

[hiwaybandit]

Ok, now that we know what''s going to happen, What are we waiting for? We got em, lets use em. Ain''t no sense letting them lay around and rust. F*^#k em all, nuke em, and let God sort em out. they have been fighting their religous war for decades, now we got involved, and there is no other way out, is there?

[pollroller1]

A nuclear war would just ruin my day.

[hiwaybandit]

Yeah, but u won''t have go to work everyday any more.

[andrew_693]

it doesnt really matter because the republicons are going to say that these american scientists are liberals who love life, trees, and drink clean water who don''t love drinking oil nor radiactive nuclear rain, which according to their bible is supposed to be good for you. Any news related to science, facts, reality, ozone layer or war is to them a sign of gay communism because it distracts them from preparing for their massive suicides and the rapture that will take place in their child molseting compounds.

[hypnotoad72]

andrew_693 - you are missing the point of the various entities you are summarily attacking.

Doesn''t seem relevant to the article either.

[naucoming4u]

Study: Small Nuclear War Would Shred Ozone
No seriously. We needed a study to tell us that? Seems like common sense to me.

Posted by tomanyt at 04:20 PM : Apr 08, 2008
............

And of course, a follow up study should be...

..."how would you feel about the environmental damage if a nuclear war was to occur?"

Really, our tax dollars pay for the dumbest studies known to mankind, why not add another!

[walt1944-2009]

Scientists have stated that even a "small" nuclear war (how do you define "small" when it comes to a nuclear war?) will destroy the ozone layer for at least a decade or more.

The Great Emperor Bush and his older clone, John "The Great Prentender" McCain, together with every neocon Fascist Nazi out there, disregard these predictions as nothing more than a bunch of crazy scientists influenced by the evil, cowardly Whimpo-crats. Such "doomsday" predictions do not influence either the Great Emperor Bush II or "Bagdad John" in the slightest as both of them intend to go ahead with plans to create a new neocon empire, to be called "The Fourth Reich" and starting with Iraq and Afghanistan.

More countries which the Great Emperor believes belongs to him, will be added later, if not by him, then by "Bagdad John", when he takes over the throne in the Oval Office. It is assumed that the cowardly, stupid Whimpo-crats will have self-destructed by then and be of no consequence!

However, to be on the safe side, the Great Emperor has ordered NASA to push plans to improve the quality of their space suits, supposedly be developed for when astronauts of the USSA return to the moon (HA!) and move on to Mars (HA! HA!). The real purpose of the suits, however, is to protect those select neocon Fascist Nazis from being BROILED on THIS planet in the event the scientists are right!

SIG HEIL, BUSH!!!!
sig heil, (more of the same) McCain!!!!

[gkc99]

This development would favor dark skinned people. Whiteys would get skin cancer real fast.

[bgwinnett]

It will stop Global Cooling though.

[sgtrds]

When the nuclear war does come it''ll be Cheney attacking Iran.

[bgwinnett]

When the nuclear war does come it''''ll be Cheney attacking Iran.

Posted by SgtRDS at 06:32 PM : Apr 08, 2008

He''ll use the Death Star instead.

[naucoming4u]

I agree with walt... how does one define "small" when it comes to a nuclear war?!

Really, would a country with dozens to thousands of nuclear missiles just stop at a couple, if such a war was to break out?

It''s like asking a fat person to only eat a couple of potato chips!