The updated GLE alert system by ANEMOS

Ground level enhancements (GLEs) of cosmic radiation are the result of solar energetic particles (SEPs) arriving at the Earth, potentially causing major damage to technological systems, but also posing a threat for human health. Intense SEPs, such as the GLE events, can influence the radiation exposure of aircrafts and consequently increase the radiation dose on human crew, but also have an impact on satellites and affect the design of space missions, i.e electronic devices onboard the satellite platforms etc. Therefore, predicting such events is challenging and one of the most important aspects of space weather research. In this work the updated GLE Alert++ System of the Athens Neutron Monitor Station (A.Ne.Mo.S.) implemented by the Athens Cosmic Ray Group of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) is being presented. Moreover, the innovations of the updated system in relation to the previous version of the GLE Alert Plus are introduced. Finally, the most recent and the first of solar cycle 25 GLE event, GLE73, is discussed. This event was registered by several stations of the worldwide ground-based neutron monitor network. An accurate alert was issued successfully by the ESA R-ESC federated product GLE Alert Plus, as well as by the updated GLE Alert++ System of the NKUA/A.Ne.Mo.S. It should be emphasized that GLE Alert++ signal by NKUA/A.Ne.Mo.S. was issued 45 minutes earlier than the one issued by GOES satellites

Space Weather Effects on Heart Rate Variations: Sex Dependence

The effects of solar activity and the accompanying space weather events on human pathological conditions, physiological parameters and other psycho-physiological disturbances have been analyzed in numerous recent investigations. Moreover, many of these studies have particularly focused on the different physical reactions humans have, according to their sex, during variations in the physical environment. In the framework of the above, this work analyses heart rate data obtained from volunteers (687 men and 534 women) from three different regions (Athens, Piraeus and Heraklion) of Greece in relation to the geophysical activity and variations of environmental factors. Dst index and Ap index data, along with cosmic ray intensity data derived from the Athens Neutron Monitor Station (A.Ne.Mo.S.), were used. The study expands from April 2011 to January 2018, covering solar cycle 24. The ANalysis Of Variance (ANOVA) and the superimposed epochs methods were used in order to examine heart rate variations depending on sex. Results revealed that women tend to be more sensitive to physical environmental changes. Statistically significant results are related to the geomagnetic activity but were not obtained for cosmic ray variations

Precursors of geomagnetic disturbances and human physiological parameters

In this thesis Space Weather effects and more specifically decreases of the cosmic rayintensity, known as Forbush decreases, are studied by using space and ground measurements. Agreat amount of Forbush decreases were examined, as registered by the neutron monitor stations fromthe beginning of their operation until today (1957 – 2012). From these events 185 Forbush decreases,which are connected with precursors (pre-increases and/or pre-decreases of the cosmic ray intensity),were examined. These events were classified for the first time into groups according to three criteria,the criterion of anisotropy, the criterion of western solar sources accompanied with geomagnetic stormsand the criterion of strong Forbush decreases. The selected Forbush decreases cover the time period1967 – 2006. Solar, interplanetary and geomagnetic data from the Forbush decreases database ofIZMIRAN Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Cosmic Ray Group of the University ofAthens were used for the analysis of each event. Moreover, by using hourly cosmic ray intensity datafrom 31 Neutron Monitor stations from the Neutron Monitor Network and applying the ‘Ring of Stations’method the asymptotic longitudinal cosmic ray distribution diagrams were plotted. Results reveal clearsigns of precursors in a satisfactory number of events, which could serve as a useful tool forforecasting Forbush decreases and geomagnetic storms. Furthermore, geomagnetic activity andcosmic ray intensity variations were statistically analyzed in relation to variations of humanphysiological parameters (heart rate, arterial blood pressure, RR interval), since recent internationalinvestigations have shown that space weather effects could influence human health. Results reveal apotential influence of geomagnetic activity and cosmic ray intensity variations on the functionality of thehuman organism.Στην παρούσα διατριβή μελετώνται τα φαινόμενα του 'ιαστημικού Καιρού, και πιοσυγκεκριμένα οι μειώσεις Forbush της έντασης της κοσμικής ακτινοβολίας, χρησιμοποιώνταςδιαστημικές και επίγειες μετρήσεις. Συγκεκριμένα εξετάστηκε ένας μεγάλος αριθμός μειώσεων Forbushτης έντασης της κοσμικής ακτινοβολίας που καταγράφηκαν στους μετρητές νετρονίων από την αρχήτης λειτουργίας τους μέχρι σήμερα (1957 – 2012). Από τα γεγονότα αυτά επελέγησαν 185 μειώσειςForbush, οι οποίες παρουσιάζουν προειδοποιητικά σήματα, δηλαδή προ-αυξήσεις και/ή προ-μειώσειςτης έντασης της κοσμικής ακτινοβολίας. Στη συνέχεια τα γεγονότα αυτά ταξινομήθηκαν για πρώτηφορά σε ομάδες με βάση τρία κριτήρια, το κριτήριο της ανισοτροπίας, το κριτήριο των δυτικών πηγώνκαι των γεωμαγνητικών καταιγίδων και το κριτήριο των μεγάλων μειώσεων Forbush. Τα γεγονότα αυτάκαλύπτουν το χρονικό διάστημα 1967 – 2006. Για την ανάλυση των υπό μελέτη γεγονότωνχρησιμοποιήθηκαν ηλιακά, διαπλανητικά και γεωμαγνητικά δεδομένα από τη βάση μειώσεων Forbushτου IZMIRAN της Ρωσικής Ακαδημίας Επιστημών και της Ομάδας Κοσμικής Ακτινοβολίας τουΠανεπιστημίου Αθηνών. Επίσης, χρησιμοποιώντας ωριαίες τιμές της έντασης της κοσμικήςακτινοβολίας από 31 σταθμούς Μετρητών Νετρονίων του Παγκοσμίου 'ικτύου και εφαρμόζοντας τημέθοδο ‘Ring of Stations’, κατασκευάστηκαν τα διαγράμματα της χρονικής κατανομής τουασυμπτωτικού μήκους των κοσμικών σωματιδίων που φθάνουν από τον διαπλανητικό χώρο για όλα ταεπιλεγμένα γεγονότα. Έτσι, προκύπτει ότι σε ένα αρκετά ικανοποιητικό ποσοστό γεγονότωνεπισημαίνονται προειδοποιητικά σήματα, τα οποία αποτελούν ένα ασφαλές κριτήριο για την πρόβλεψηέναρξης των μειώσεων Forbush και των γεωμαγνητικών καταιγίδων. Στη συνέχεια, έγινε στατιστικήανάλυση των μεταβολών της γεωμαγνητικής δραστηριότητας και της έντασης της κοσμικής______________________________________________________________________ΕΚΤ | www.didaktorika.gr | 5ακτινοβολίας σε σχέση με τις μεταβολές των παραμέτρων της ανθρώπινης φυσιολογίας (καρδιακόςρυθμός, αρτηριακή πίεση, διάστημα RR), αφού, όπως προκύπτει και από την πρόσφατη διεθνήβιβλιογραφία, τα φαινόμενα του διαστημικού καιρού μπορούν να επηρεάσουν την ανθρώπινη υγεία. Τααποτελέσματα υποδεικνύουν μία πιθανή επίδραση της γεωμαγνητικής δραστηριότητας και τωνμεταβολών της έντασης της κοσμικής ακτινοβολίας στη φυσιολογική λειτουργία του ανθρώπινουοργανισμού

Geomagnetic and Cosmic Ray Activity Effect on Heart Rate during the Solar Cycle 24

The number of investigations relevant to the study of geomagnetic activity, solar events, and cosmic rays, i.e., space weather phenomena, and their impact on human health has increased dramatically over the past few years. Numerous studies examine the reaction of the cardiovascular, nervous, and other functional systems to variations observed in geospace. These studies examine the behavior of human physiological parameters not only during different levels of activity of the Sun and in the interplanetary space (from no activity to remarkably intense activity) but also through geomagnetic activity storms and Forbush decreases. Here, individuals from the Hippocratio General Hospital in Athens, the cardiology clinics of Nikaia General Hospital in Piraeus, and the Heraklion University Hospital in Crete, Greece, were assessed during the time period from 2011 until 2018. The heart rate of the individuals was recorded every hour via the Holter electrocardiogram method. Data were analyzed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the method of superimposed epochs. The investigation covers not only the ascending but also the descending phase of the solar cycle 24 (lasting until 2019 and with its maximum in the year 2014)

Human Physiological Parameters Related to Solar and Geomagnetic Disturbances: Data from Different Geographic Regions

It is well known that the various manifestations of space weather can influence a wide range of human activities, from technological systems to human health. Various earlier, as well as more recent multi-disciplinary heliobiological and biometeorological studies have revealed that the human organism is sensitive to environmental physical activity changes and reacts to them through variations of the physiological parameters of the human body. This paper constitutes an overview of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens investigations in regard to the possible effect of solar, geomagnetic, and cosmic ray activity on human physiological parameters. The Athens Cosmic Ray and Solar Physics Groups collaborated with scientific teams from different countries, statistically processing and analyzing data related to human physiological parameters (such as mean heart rate, arterial systolic, and diastolic pressure), or the number of incidents of different types of cardiac arrhythmias and so forth, in relation to data concerning and describing geomagnetic activity (geomagnetic indices Ap and Dst) and variations in cosmic ray intensity (Forbush decreases and cosmic ray intensity enhancements). In total, four projects were carried out concerning data from different geographical regions (Baku, Azerbaijan; Kosice, Slovakia; Tbilisi, Georgia; Piraeus, Greece), covering different time periods and time scales (daily data or yearly data), and referring to different groups of individuals (selected healthy persons or random persons). The studies concluded with interesting results concerning the possible influence of geomagnetic and cosmic ray activity on the human physiological state

Human Physiological Parameters Related to Solar and Geomagnetic Disturbances: Data from Different Geographic Regions

It is well known that the various manifestations of space weather can influence a wide range of human activities, from technological systems to human health. Various earlier, as well as more recent multi-disciplinary heliobiological and biometeorological studies have revealed that the human organism is sensitive to environmental physical activity changes and reacts to them through variations of the physiological parameters of the human body. This paper constitutes an overview of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens investigations in regard to the possible effect of solar, geomagnetic, and cosmic ray activity on human physiological parameters. The Athens Cosmic Ray and Solar Physics Groups collaborated with scientific teams from different countries, statistically processing and analyzing data related to human physiological parameters (such as mean heart rate, arterial systolic, and diastolic pressure), or the number of incidents of different types of cardiac arrhythmias and so forth, in relation to data concerning and describing geomagnetic activity (geomagnetic indices Ap and Dst) and variations in cosmic ray intensity (Forbush decreases and cosmic ray intensity enhancements). In total, four projects were carried out concerning data from different geographical regions (Baku, Azerbaijan; Kosice, Slovakia; Tbilisi, Georgia; Piraeus, Greece), covering different time periods and time scales (daily data or yearly data), and referring to different groups of individuals (selected healthy persons or random persons). The studies concluded with interesting results concerning the possible influence of geomagnetic and cosmic ray activity on the human physiological state

Precursory Signs of Large Forbush Decreases in Relation to Cosmic Rays Equatorial Anisotropy Variation

Forbush decreases are usually characterized by increased values of cosmic ray anisotropy. The precursory signs, i.e., pre-increases and especially pre-decreases of the cosmic ray intensity, are highly anisotropic phenomena that ordinarily forewarn of such events. Two Cosmic Ray Groups from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (NKUA) and the Pushkov Institute of Terrestrial Magnetism, Ionosphere, and Radiowave Propagation of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IZMIRAN) have been investigating the existence of precursory signs preceding Forbush decreases in relation to different solar phenomena, interplanetary parameters, and geomagnetic conditions. In this study, large Forbush decreases (magnitude > 5%) accompanied by geomagnetic storms (i.e., geomagnetic index Dst xyb, %) less than 0.8% were examined regarding precursors. In total, 50 events with the aforementioned features were selected and analyzed from the IZMIRAN’s Forbush Effects and Interplanetary Disturbances database concerning the time period from 1969 until 2023. The Ring of Stations method, which depicts the cosmic ray variations for various asymptotic longitudes in relation to time, was applied on each event. The results revealed that clear signs of pre-decreases were not present for the majority of the events. Since particularly strong events were considered, most of them still showed some precursory signs, albeit mainly weak. Despite this, the value of Axyb = 0.8% proves to be a good threshold for the manual selection of FDs with well-expressed precursors

The Updated Version of the A.Ne.Mo.S. GLE Alert System: The Case of the Ground-Level Enhancement GLE73 on 28 October 2021

A ground-level enhancement (GLE) event is a sudden increase in cosmic ray intensity originated by solar sources and recorded by ground-based detectors. GLEs are invariably associated with large solar flares that can release and accelerate solar particles at high energies. The minimum kinetic energy of particles reaching the Earth’s surface is >433 MeV at sea level and about 300 MeV/n at high-mountain altitude of about 3000 m a.s.l. Even though these abrupt events linked to solar activity are quite rare, they can have a great impact on technological systems and human health when recorded. Therefore, the accurate and effective prognosis of such events is of great importance. In this paper, an overview of the most recently recorded GLE event and the first of solar cycle 25, i.e., GLE73, as well as a post-event analysis is presented. GLE73 was detected on 28 October 2021 and was associated with the active region AR12887 on the central part of the solar disk, which produced an X1.0 solar flare. The event was registered by several stations of the worldwide ground-based neutron monitor network. An accurate alert was issued successfully by the ESA R-ESC federated product GLE Alert Plus, as well as the updated GLE Alert++ System of the Athens Neutron Monitor Station (A.Ne.Mo.S.). It should be emphasized that the GLE Alert++ signal by NKUA/A.Ne.Mo.S. was issued 45 min earlier than the one issued by GOES. A short description and the advantages of this last system are provided

The Updated Version of the A.Ne.Mo.S. GLE Alert System: The Case of the Ground-Level Enhancement GLE73 on 28 October 2021

A ground-level enhancement (GLE) event is a sudden increase in cosmic ray intensity originated by solar sources and recorded by ground-based detectors. GLEs are invariably associated with large solar flares that can release and accelerate solar particles at high energies. The minimum kinetic energy of particles reaching the Earth’s surface is >433 MeV at sea level and about 300 MeV/n at high-mountain altitude of about 3000 m a.s.l. Even though these abrupt events linked to solar activity are quite rare, they can have a great impact on technological systems and human health when recorded. Therefore, the accurate and effective prognosis of such events is of great importance. In this paper, an overview of the most recently recorded GLE event and the first of solar cycle 25, i.e., GLE73, as well as a post-event analysis is presented. GLE73 was detected on 28 October 2021 and was associated with the active region AR12887 on the central part of the solar disk, which produced an X1.0 solar flare. The event was registered by several stations of the worldwide ground-based neutron monitor network. An accurate alert was issued successfully by the ESA R-ESC federated product GLE Alert Plus, as well as the updated GLE Alert++ System of the Athens Neutron Monitor Station (A.Ne.Mo.S.). It should be emphasized that the GLE Alert++ signal by NKUA/A.Ne.Mo.S. was issued 45 min earlier than the one issued by GOES. A short description and the advantages of this last system are provided