The Stratosphere

The stratosphere is the second level of atmosphere from the earth. It starts about ten km above the earth's surface at the tropopause. The level ends 35 km higher. Within this region, almost all science deals with the production and destruction of the trace element ozone. More specifically, it deals with the rates of different reactions involving "odd oxygen" -- ozone and the O radical. These elements are important because they are formed and destroyed by photolysis. The photolysis of odd oxygen provides protection from UV rays, so scientists try to ensure the highest levels of odd oxygen as possible. Stratospheric science concentrates on measuring which reactions use photolysis and how fast, as well as which reactions do not.