Variations of the cosmic ray general component in Antarctica

A cosmic ray variations, zonal cosmic ray modulation, was found in the lower atmosphere from the sonde measurement results. The variations give rise to anomalies in the latitude distributions of the cosmic ray charged component and the anomalous north-south asymmetry. To find the nature of the variations, the cosmic ray general component was measured with the same detectors as in the sonde measurements gas discharge counters and the counter telescopes with 7-mm Al filters detecting the electrons of energy above 200 keV and 5 MeV. The measurement data obtained in Antarctica in the years 1978 to 1983 are presented and discussed

The influence of the Earth's magnetosphere on the high-energy solar protons

In the Earth's polar regions the intensity of the solar protons with the energy above the critical energy of geomagnetic cutoff is the same as in the interplanetary space. The penumbra in the polar regions is small and the East-West effect is also small. However the geomagnetic cutoff rigidity R sub c in polar regions is difficult to calculate because it is not sufficient to include only the internal sources of the geomagnetic field. During the magneto-quiescent periods the real value of R sub c can be less by 0.1 GV than the calculated value because of the external sources. During the geomagnetic storms the real value of R sub c is still lower

Solar cosmic ray bursts and solar neutrino fluxes

The neutrino flux detected in the C1-Ar experiment seems to respond to the powerful solar cosmic ray bursts. The ground-based detectors, the balloons and the satellites detect about 50% of the bursts of soalr cosmic ray generated on the Sun's visible side. As a rule, such bursts originate from the Western side of the visible solar disk. Since the solar cosmic ray bursts are in opposite phase withthe 11-year galactic cosmic ray cycle which also seems to be reflected by neutrino experiment. The neutrino generation in the bursts will flatten the possible 11-year behavior of the AR-37 production rate, Q, in the Cl-Ar experiment. The detection of solar-flare-generated gamma-quanta with energies above tens of Mev is indicative of the generation of high-energy particles which in turn may produce neutrinos. Thus, the increased Q during the runs, when the flare-generated high energy gamma-quanta have been registered, may be regarded as additional evidence for neutrino geneation in the solar flare processes

The difference in the energy spectra of galactic cosmic rays at the minima of the 19th and 20th solar activity cycles

The absorption curves of the cosmic ray charged component for solar minima in 1965 and 1975 to 1977 are analyzed on the basis of daily stratospheric measurements in Murmansk, Moscow, Alma-Ata and Mirny (Antarctic). Two distinct features in the energy spectra of galactic cosmic rays are revealed during these periods. At the 20th solar activity minimum there was the additional short range component of cosmic rays. Additional fluxes in the stratosphere at high latitudes caused by this component are probably protons and He nuclei with the energy 100 to 500 MeV/n. The fluxes are estimates as Approx. 300 sq m/s/sr. At the minimum in 1975 to 1977 the proton intensity in the energy range 1 to 15 GeV is 10 to 15% lower than that in the 1965 solar activity minimum

Energetic particle influence on the Earth's atmosphere

This manuscript gives an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the effects of energetic particle precipitation (EPP) onto the whole atmosphere, from the lower thermosphere/mesosphere through the stratosphere and troposphere, to the surface. The paper summarizes the different sources and energies of particles, principally galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), solar energetic particles (SEPs) and energetic electron precipitation (EEP). All the proposed mechanisms by which EPP can affect the atmosphere are discussed, including chemical changes in the upper atmosphere and lower thermosphere, chemistry-dynamics feedbacks, the global electric circuit and cloud formation. The role of energetic particles in Earth’s atmosphere is a multi-disciplinary problem that requires expertise from a range of scientific backgrounds. To assist with this synergy, summary tables are provided, which are intended to evaluate the level of current knowledge of the effects of energetic particles on processes in the entire atmosphere