The 2016 formation of the Antarctic Ozone Hole turned out to be fairly “average.”  After 2015, where an incredibly stable polar vortex held the depletion region together well in to December, NOAA scientist were curious how 2016 would progress.  Although the vortex remained fairly stable and circular, the depletion region never quite reached the size seen last… Read More

By Refael Klein, NOAA Corps officer, from South Pole, October 3 The sun sits two fingers above the horizon.  It is obscured by fine, white, icy clouds, but nonetheless you can make out its circular shape—dimming and brightening with each gust wind and slight fluctuation in temperature.  Pulsing, blinking, fluttering, stuttering, in a dead language,… Read More