There is serious concern that this stratospheric cooling from greenhouse gases may actually slow down the recovery of the ozone layer in the 21th century by decades. This difference between the North and South Poles is mainly due to the formation of a more stable vortex of polar air at the South Pole which leads to more extreme cooling. The reactions involved are very sensitive to temperature and a cooling from 73 to -98 degrees Centigrade increases the reaction rate 10 fold. Inspite of this basic understanding of the processes involved, the models still do not adequately predict the polar ozone losses, and therefore need to be improved. It started in November 1999 when scientists, technical staff and equipment were flown in.
SAGE looks at sunsets and examines the absorption of radiation by ozone in the atmosphere.