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Atmospheric impacts of the strongest known solar particle storm of 775 AD
Citation
Sukhodolov, T and Usoskin, I and Rozanov, E and Asvestari, E and Ball, WT and Curran, MAJ and Fischer, H and Kovaltsov, G and Miyake, F and Peter, T and Plummer, C and Schmutz, W and Severi, M and Traversi, R, Atmospheric impacts of the strongest known solar particle storm of 775 AD, Scientific Reports, 7 Article 45257. ISSN 2045-2322 (2017) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2017 The Authors. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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 in the assessment of this event. We add to prior conclusions that any nitrate deposition signal from SEP events remains too weak to be detected in ice cores by showing that, even for such an extreme solar storm and sub-annual data resolution, the nitrate deposition signal is indistinguishable from the seasonal cycle. We show that such a severe event is able to perturb the polar stratosphere for at least one year, leading to regional changes in the surface temperature during northern hemisphere winters.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Article |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | atmospheric chemistry, nitrate, solar particle event, 775 CE |
| Research Division: | Earth Sciences |
| Research Group: | Physical geography and environmental geoscience |
| Research Field: | Glaciology |
| Objective Division: | Environmental Policy, Climate Change and Natural Hazards |
| Objective Group: | Understanding climate change |
| Objective Field: | Effects of climate change on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic environments (excl. social impacts) |
| UTAS Author: | Curran, MAJ (Dr Mark Curran) |
| UTAS Author: | Plummer, C (Mr Christopher Plummer) |
| ID Code: | 115590 |
| Year Published: | 2017 |
| Web of Science® Times Cited: | 44 |
| Deposited By: | CRC-Antarctic Climate & Ecosystems |
| Deposited On: | 2017-03-31 |
| Last Modified: | 2018-04-20 |
| Downloads: | 99 View Download Statistics |
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