O3 Absorption Spectrum
Slide 2 of 8
Ozone absorbs strongly in the so-called Hartley band, centered at 250 nm. It is probably no accident that life evolved after ozone was produced in the atmosphere, because this same region of wavelengths is absorbed by DNA. Without ozone, there would be no life as we know it. A 1% decrease in the amount of ozone would annually cause 50,000 deaths from melanoma (skin cancer) and 100,000 cases of cataracts.
