Stratospheric ozone

Stratospheric ozone acquired a huge importance two decades ago because of the discovery of strong anomalies above the Antarctica due to gases of anthropogenic origin. From that date, stratosphere has become one of the research lines receiving more funding. A result, an important progress in the development of observational techniques, the understanding of the dynamics of the polar regions and, above all, in understanding of the chemical interactions among the species that influence the chemical-radiative balance of ozone. In this article a general revision is made of the distribution of the ozone in the stratosphere, the mechanisms that determine its equilibrium, the gases that contribute to its destruction, the present situation and the forecast of the health state of the layer.