Polar Research Institute: "Bromine Gas Destroying Arctic Ozone Occurs Without Sunlight"

Glacier in Svalbard, Arctic [Provided by Polar Research Institute. Reproduction and database prohibited]

The Polar Research Institute announced on the 17th that it has identified the process by which bromine gas, which destroys ozone in the Arctic atmospheric boundary layer and threatens polar ecosystems, is generated without sunlight.

Bromine gas is generated from the explosion of bromine in the ocean and rises to the Arctic atmospheric boundary layer, 1-2 km above the Earth's surface, where it destroys ozone and causes atmospheric mercury to descend to the surface and oceans. Until now, it was understood that bromine converted into gas through an explosion triggered by sunlight.

However, a research team led by Dr. Kim Ki-tae and Dr. Ahn Yong-yoon at the Polar Research Institute has now discovered that bromine converts into bromine gas without sunlight due to the "freezing concentration effect."

The freezing concentration effect refers to the phenomenon where components dissolved in water become concentrated at high levels as they gather in a semi-liquid layer when water cools.

Dr. Kim Ki-tae, the lead researcher, explained, "We have confirmed that bromine is converted into bromine gas through a special chemical reaction during this concentration process."

The Polar Research Institute emphasized, "This research is receiving attention as a significant discovery that could change the paradigm of global atmospheric chemistry and polar environmental research."

The results of this research have been published in the October 2025 issue of 'Water Research,' a world-renowned academic journal in the field of water research. Yonhap News