The Effect of Space Weather on Human Body at the Spitsbergen Archipelago

The study of the effects of the space weather on the human body was carried out at the Spitsbergen archipelago. A geophysical feature of the arch. Spitsbergen is its location in the cusp region—a kind of funnel on the dayside of the magnetosphere, where phenomena of space weather most express. Diverse radiation (from ULF to VHF) and waves in the field of polar cusp, covering the entire range of the body rhythms, give credit for studying the effects of space weather in the field of polar cusp. Assessment of the relationship between the dynamics of the monthly morbidity in Russian settlements and indicators of space weather revealed that, practically, all forms of morbidity are associated with solar activity and with the local geomagnetic activity in the polar cusp. A difference in correlations between the monthly incidence of residents in the Barentsburg and geocosmic agents during the polar day and the polar night was found. The links between the incidences of the population and the peculiarities of space weather will make it possible to develop prognoses of the morbidity for preventive measures aimed at increasing human health in high latitudes

An Interdisciplinary Approach to Predicting the Effects of Transboundary Atmospheric Transport to Northwest European Neighboring States

The Kola North is the most industrial territory of the Arctic region, where enterprises are sources of sulfur dioxide (SO2), which disperses widely not only throughout the Kola North, but also to the territories of neighboring Northwest European countries: Norway and Finland. The purpose of this study was to reveal the main sources of atmospheric SO2 pollution in the Kola North, assess the possible contribution of SO2 to the morbidity of respiratory diseases among children in the region, study the daily dynamics of SO2 content, and examine the likelihood of transboundary transport to neighboring states. The pathways of SO2 transfer throughout 2020 were revealed by using daily data about SO2 surface mass, wind direction and speed selected from the Geographic Information System for the cities of Zapolyarny (69∘24′55″ N, 30∘48′48″ E) and Olenegorsk (68∘08′35″ N, 33∘ 15′10″ E). It was found that the prevalence of pneumonia in 0-14-year-old children was associated with Olenegorsk, where the maximum of SO2 emissions was detected. The median values of SO2 surface mass were 2.7 times higher for Olenegorsk than for Zapolyarny and exceeded the maximum permissible concentration. The probability of SO2 transport to the territories of Norway and Finland was also estimated. This study highlights the complexity of the problem of transboundary airborne pollution transport, which requires interdisciplinary research to predict the consequences of the contamination for territories of the neighboring Northwest European countries. Keywords: Kola North, sulfur dioxide, respiratory morbidity among children, transboundary atmospheric transport, neighboring state

On the protection of extrasolar Earth-like planets around K/M stars against galactic cosmic rays

Previous studies have shown that extrasolar Earth-like planets in close-in habitable zones around M-stars are weakly protected against galactic cosmic rays (GCRs), leading to a strongly increased particle flux to the top of the planetary atmosphere. Two main effects were held responsible for the weak shielding of such an exoplanet: (a) For a close-in planet, the planetary magnetic moment is strongly reduced by tidal locking. Therefore, such a close-in extrasolar planet is not protected by an extended magnetosphere. (b) The small orbital distance of the planet exposes it to a much denser stellar wind than that prevailing at larger orbital distances. This dense stellar wind leads to additional compression of the magnetosphere, which can further reduce the shielding efficiency against GCRs. In this work, we analyse and compare the effect of (a) and (b), showing that the stellar wind variation with orbital distance has little influence on the cosmic ray shielding. Instead, the weak shielding of M star planets can be attributed to their small magnetic moment. We further analyse how the planetary mass and composition influence the planetary magnetic moment, and thus modify the cosmic ray shielding efficiency. We show that more massive planets are not necessarily better protected against galactic cosmic rays, but that the planetary bulk composition can play an important role.Comment: 7 figure

A link between solar events and congenital malformations: Is ionizing radiation enough to explain it?

Cosmic rays are known to cause biological effects directly and through ionizing radiation produced by their secondaries. These effects have been detected in airline crews and other specific cases where members of the population are exposed to above average secondary fluxes. Recent work has found a correlation between solar particle events and congenital malformations. In this work we use the results of computational simulations to approximate the ionizing radiation from such events as well as longer-term increases in cosmic ray flux. We find that the amounts of ionizing radiation produced by these events are insufficient to produce congenital malformations under the current paradigm regarding muon ionizing radiation. We believe that further work is needed to determine the correct ionizing radiation contribution of cosmogenic muons. We suggest that more extensive measurements of muon radiation effects may show a larger contribution to ionizing radiation dose than currently assumed

The impact of galactic cosmic rays on extrasolar Earth-like planets in close-in habitable zones

International audienc

The impact of galactic cosmic rays on extrasolar Earth-like planets in close-in habitable zones

International audienc

The impact of galactic cosmic rays on extrasolar Earth-like planets in close-in habitable zones

International audienc

Origin and Evolution of Life on Terrestrial Planets

The ultimate goal of terrestrial planet-finding missions is not only to discover terrestrial exoplanets inside the habitable zone (HZ) of their host stars but also to address the major question as to whether life may have evolved on a habitable Earth-like exoplanet outside our Solar System. We note that the chemical evolution that finally led to the origin of life on Earth must be studied if we hope to understand the principles of how life might evolve on other terrestrial planets in the Universe. This is not just an anthropocentric point of view: the basic ingredients of terrestrial life, that is, reduced carbon-based molecules and liquid H₂O, have very specific properties. We discuss the origin of life from the chemical evolution of its precursors to the earliest life-forms and the biological implications of the stellar radiation and energetic particle environments. Likewise, the study of the biological evolution that has generated the various life-forms on Earth provides clues toward the understanding of the interconnectedness of life with its environment