A form of oxygen, and an atmospheric trace gas, made by natural photochemical reactions associated with solar ultraviolet radiation. Ozone has three atoms of oxygen combined in one molecule, rather than two atoms, as in free oxygen. The proportion of ozone in the atmosphere is very small, but it is of vital importance in absorbing solar ultraviolet radiation. The ozone layer (ozonosphere), is an ozone-rich band of the atmosphere, at 10–20 km above the Earth, but is at its most concentrated between 20 and 25 km. See Schiermeier (2007) Nature 449. When the ozone layer thins (the ‘hole’ over Antarctica is an example) increased solar ultraviolet radiation reaches the surface of the Earth, with consequent damage to human health. See European Space Agency (2004), 5 October.