Atmospheric impacts of the strongest known solar particle storm of 775 AD.

ABSTRACT: Sporadic solar energetic particle (SEP) events affect the Earth's atmosphere and environment, in particular leading to depletion of the protective ozone layer in the Earth's atmosphere, and pose potential technological and even life hazards. The greatest SEP storm known for the last 11 millennia (the Holocene) occurred in 774-775 AD, serving as a likely worst-case scenario being 40-50 times stronger than any directly observed one. Here we present a systematic analysis of the impact such an extreme event can have on the Earth's atmosphere. Using state-of-the-art cosmic ray cascade and chemistry-climate models, we successfully reproduce the observed variability of cosmogenic isotope ¹⁰Be, around 775 AD, in four ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica, thereby validating the models

SUBMITTER: Sukhodolov T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5368659 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature