The effect of solar flares on the weather on Earth is examined. It is concluded that the processes which arise in the atmosphere are so intricate that a single calculation of solar activity is insufficient for long-range forecasting. However, combined consideration of processes dependent upon the dynamic instability of the atmosphere and the effect of solar activity will contribute to the improvement of long-range forecasts

Reshetov, V. D.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

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! NASA TECHNICAL M_MORANDUM TM-753_9
t NASA-TM-75349 19800008747i
1
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I
I THE MECHANISM OF TEMPERATURE AND PRESSURE CHANGESIN THE EARTH'S AT OSPHERE DURING SOLA FLARES
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I V.D. Reshetov
1
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Translation of "0 mekhanizme iz_enenia temperatury
i davlenia v atmosfere zem12 pri solnechnykh vspysh-
kakh," Sun-Atmosphere Relations in Climate Theory and
Weather Forecasts; All-Union Conference, Ist, Moscow,
USSR, Oct. 30 - Nov. i, 1972, Transactions, Lenin-
grad, Gidrometeoizdat, 1974, pp. 288-296.
• ,.,, ;Gt 0
•. !nf.j
LANGLEY RESEARCHCENTER
LIBRARY,NASA
HAMPTON, VIRGINIA .
.°
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
LANGLEY RESEARCH CENTER JUNE, 1979
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19800008747 2020-03-21T19:18:27+00:00Z
.STANDARDTITLE PAGE.
';. Rcporl .No, 2, Gov_¢_rnQni A¢¢ii, sion No; _, Ri¢ip;*nt*l CGtolog t_,_,
NASA TM-75349
4. TIH* _nd Sublit;, ;" 5. Ropo_i DGI,
June 1979 °"
' THE MECHANISM OF TEMPERATURE _ND PRESSURE
_, CHANGES IN THEEARTH'S ATMOSPHERE DURING: 6. Po,;o,_ingO,_Qni,o,;onCGd,
i snT_R FLARES
: 7. Aufhot(_) 8. P,rformingO,ll_nlzofionR,po¢INo.
V. D. Reshetov 10. V:o,kUnit No. t
l *t 9. PcHorming Orgonizohon N_mo _nd Addr,ll 11. Cont¢oct *r GrQnt No.
; i" .SCI.TRAN NASW-3198 ,
: Box 5456 "I_.Ty_. ol R.po,,Gn_ ?.,io4 ¢.v.,._ '
anta Barbara, CA 93108- Translation .,
I 12. Sponsodng Ag*ncy Nome and A4dro_i", National Aeronautics and Space Administration 14. ,$;)onlorlng A;encyCo4e
. Washington, D.C. 20546
I 15. Sup;)lementacyNoleli .'. •l
, Translation of "O mekhanizme izmenenia temperatury i davlenia v atmos- "
I " fere zemli pri" solnechnykh'vspyshkakh," Sun-Atmosphere Relations .in
' Climate •Theory• and Weather Forecasts; All-Union Conference, ist, Moscow, .""
: " USSR, Oct. 30.-Nov. i, 1972, Transac'tions, Leningrad, Gidrometeoizdat,
1974; pp. 288-296. -
16. Absl,oct •
! The article examines the effect of solar f.lares on the weather on
: Earth. It concludes that the processes which arise in the _tm0s-
• phere are so intrica_:e that a siggle cal"culation of solar activity
is insufficient for long-range forecasting. But combined consideration
of processes dependen.t upon"_he dynamic instability of the atmosPhere
., and the. effect of sola.r activity will cont_ibute.':tothe improv.ement ,
of long'-range forecasts. .' :L
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THE Y_CHAaNISMOF TE_PERATURE AND PRESSURE CHANGES
IN THE _RTH'S ATMOSPh_EREDURING SOLAR FLARES I
V. D. Reshetov '
We l_ow that an additional stream of intense radiation is directed _* i
towards the Earth during the passage of sunspots near the canter of the !t
l
solar disk. We are apparently observing a solar flare. A part of the I
solar flare's corpuscular radiation is trapped by the Earth's magnetic I
field and concentrated where the lines of _gnetic force converge -- [
near the magnetic poles (75°N, 100°W and 68°S, 140°E). i
The work of G.A. Kokin (5), Y.P. Koshel'kov and D.A. Tarasenko (6),
Ivanov-Kholodny, T.V. Kazachovskaya, G.A. Kokin, V.V. Mikhnsvich (5),
B.M. Rubashev (II), V.i. Bekoryukov and V.S. Purgansky (I) has estab-
lished that during magnetic storms there is a warming of the upper
..
atmosphere in the polar regions which increases with altituLde.....
it is also known that the majority of magnetic storms are observed
one or two days following the onset of solar activity and are caused
by corpuscular radiation from the Sun penetrating the atmosphere.
We shall examine the nature of temperature changes in the upper
atmosphere during the passage of sunspots across the solar disk through
one specific example. On 27 September 1969 from approximately_._ to
4_ (_T) a large group of extremely intense sunspots with an area of
around 150 millionths of the Sun's visible surface traversed the central
solar meridian at 7ON (solar latitude). The effects of the energy
associated with this solar flare can be seen on the map of thermosphere
temperatures at 260_altitude on 27 and 28 September 1969 published
by Blamont and Luton (14) (fig. 1).
It is apparent that on 28 September 1969 the areas of greatest
heatinG at 260Panwere those near the magnetic poles (aiz temperature
here was 1500 -- 1400°K, and in other regions I000---1200°E).
*Numbers in margin indicate foreign pagination. -"
11 • , • •
' . _..
1
0In fig._a we can see that there are widespread temperature field /2
' and circulation disturbances in the thermosphere as well as in lower
atmosphere layers. In this example, two temperature waves predominate,
extending roughly from west to east with wavelengths of about 180 degrees
of longitude. We can also see that two long pressure waves predomir_ted
on the Earth's surface this day (fig. Ic). Areas of increased pressure
on the Earth's surface (fig. Ic) coincide with regions of increased
temperature in the thermosphere (fig. la), while areas of decreased
temperature in the thermospher0 coincide with regions of decreased
pressure on the surface of the Earth,
Such correspondence is not strict, however, but is observed only
€
in most zones of the global thermobaric field.
The map we have compiled (fig. ib) according to the data from (14)
shows that between 27 and 28 September 1969 the thermosphere at_the_.....
i N9rth Magnetic Pole was heated by 400°K, and at the South Magnetic Pole
I
by 200OK. At the same time it can distinctly be seen that at the lower
latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere and in part of the Southern Hemi-
sphere the temperature of the thermosphere decreased by SO -- lO0°K.
•According to fig. 2 the atmospheric heating in the polar regions
by the solar flare (27 -- 28 September 1969) spread downward to an alti-
tude of approximately 10km, but in the area from 10 to 25 or 55_ it
j amounted to only a few dozen degrees. _t diminished rather quickly
at the transition from the thermosphere to the mesosphere and stratosphere,
i and did not penetrate the troposphere. Throughout the lower latitudes
?
there was an appreciable temperature decrease, averaging _0°K at an
: altitude of 260kmand falling!t9 0.5°K up to an altitude of 10kwzin
the equatorial regions. A general cooling enveloped the thermosphere.
2
tIn areas of greatest heating and cooling, maximum temperatures occurring
in certain areas ncar the meridian vhich_passes through the _agnetic
ypoles are also shown in fig. 2, beneath the underlining. The picture
of temperature changes presented in this figure is clearly that of
half a temperature wave enveloping the entire globe from pole to pole.
Arrows indicate the vertical motions causing this temperature
wave. In areas of maximum heating at high latitudes and cooling at
low latitudes (averaging +15Oand -50°K over a twenty-four-hour period)
vertical velocities at about 260kmaltitude amounted to, respectively,
-4m/s (descending motion) and +2 m!s (ascending motion). Calculations
show that, in order %o provide this much vertical motion, the velocity
of converging winds in the thermosphere must _each_:sovera_!dozenmeters
per second. Kolkin's experimental data confirms the initiation of high
windsin the upperatmosphereduringsolarflaresi(5)_
3
!
Fig. I. Thermobaric field at 260 kmaltitude and
on the Earthls surface during solar flare.
a) distribution of temperatures at 260 km, 28 September
1969, according to the data of (14); b) temperature
chahges at 260_ from 27 to 28 September 2969 during
solar flare; c) distribution of pressures on the F_rthls
surface 28 September 1969.
...
•., :-.. .... -.- ........... _.......
• . , • '.
i
We can see from fig. lb that the temperature wave oriented along /4
circles of latitude is accompanied by a temperature wave aligned with
the meridians. In both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres the greatest oo
Fig. 2. Atmospheric temperature changes one day
after solar flare, with diagram of vertical motions.
I -- lines of equal heating, 2 -- lines of equal cooling
of the air for the 24-hour period, by circle of latitude.
air heating at 260km altitude is detected near those meridians on which
the magnetic poles are located (100°W and 140°_), and the greatest
cooling near meridians whose longitudes lie approximately 180° from
those passing through the magnetic poles. Therefore, as a result of
corpuscular radiation from solar spots striking the upper atmosphere
in the regions of the magnetic poles for a one to tuo day period, a
system of two world-wlde standingtemperature waves was formed. One
5
tof them had its greatest temperature increase near the _agnetic boles,
and i_s greatest temperature decrease in the tropic zone. The other
temperature wave was oriented along meridians, with the maximum I
temperatures near meridians on which the magnetic poles are located /5
and the minimums near meridians differing from the previous ones
by +_180° (fig. I). Obviously, the second wave would not exists;if
the magnetic poles coincided with the geographical poles. The increase
in temperature around the magnetic poles was caused primarily by the
energy of corpuscular radiation from the solar flare. But, since regions
of cooling are found distributed symmetrically by both circles of
latitude and meridians, this indicates that, along with the initial
warming of the upper atmosphere in the magnetic polar regions, there
was a simultaneous initiation of descending motion in the atmosphere i
of these regions. There was a compensatory ascending motion in the
lower latitudes and near meridians differing:by approximately 180° from
those of the magnetic poles at latitudes greater than 45° in both hemi-
spheres.
The vertical velocities cited in fig. 2 (-4 m!s descending at
higher latitudes and +2 m/s ascending at lower latitudes) Were calcu-
lated without regard to heat flow, using the equation
_)T
,7 " - (;.,....,) ::'. (1)
Ve_icalvveloci_y as an effect of bouyancy force in a heterogeneous
heavy liquid (gas) can 50 estimated using the relationship we obtained
from (12):
• (2)? '
where y should be interpreted as the average density_n_the layer //"
\., as its Laplacian, and Z = _:]Q_l_/i:"'....
, [, • _. in the last exprcssion,
0is the acceleration due to gravity, k is the coefficient of friction,
1 is the Coriolis factor, and _:is an empirically determined dimension-
less factor less than tmity. 4d
With the aid of Clapeyron's equation and a barometrical formulao
the density_£ap'lacia_in the layer can be expressed (with some simpli-
fyln_ assumptions) as
;' .r.. 1) " (3)l' ."_'l[,/l',,,, T,,,' _r
..........................
where H is the thickness of the layer having the temperature%L@,plaCia_ "
'_T,,,,Ho is the altitude of the homogeneous atmosphere,_and Tm is the
average temperature of the layer (TO = 275).
From relationships (5) and (2) we can see that if the region of
increased temperature covers a depth of less than 16 to 20km in the
troposphere and stratosphere, or less than _0 to 60km in the thermosphere,
the air in these layers must on average be lighter and, as is usual, /6
"surface" under the influence of buoyancy force. If even a slight
warming pervades the entire thickness, the increased pressure in the
upper layers leads to such an increase in density that descending
motion develops.
Using (2) and (5), equation (I) may be rewritten as
.................................................
,_7.... -: B A 7";,,,
+st
where
[3: ('t,,"- 7) :-'#11-' 11T,_ (4)
In the region oftemlSe_-a++.ur_,cHange=_ %_dg_es_n._o_ihav0:a particularly
side range of values, while B.may be considered something of a constamt;
therefore, for a limited segment of time, assuming
t)'-'T ,).-'T
A 7":=-o_'-' -[ O,.'-''
". "..
" " "T
i
i
i
I
( wearriveatthefollowingpa[tiCu!   quat!on_!..
ij h_
] _7"_=a7",_, '"lj_! "Jticosj(?-?,,)'q-cosi(?"-)',,)(: : (5)
]
( j:_l,'2, 3 .... ; i=:1, 2, 3.... •
..................... . . ......................... .
l
In this expression the value 6TI represents initial warming by
I
the solar flare. This warming, as can be seen from equation (_), may
be extremely small, but it builds up exponentially and has an _explosiveu)
I
) nature.(
! Equation (5) basically describes the previously mentioned system
i
_" = lar
t of standing temperature waves arising in the thermosphere du._n_ so
.( flares.
( The equation shows that the upper atmosphere tends toward darge
l t
scale autoconvection and acts as a kind of amplifier _or the disturbing
t forces, if they are aligned in space.
!
We can see that limited heating of the thermosphere by energy
1
from the solar flare's corpuscular radiation leads to the development
of vertical motion, and also causes a considerable temperatureeincrease
in the higher latitudes and decrease in the lower latitudes. The energy
for generating the temperature waves decribed above is derived from
this temperature difference (55_
A diagram of the most powerful waves caused by solar activity is
shown in Fig. 5a. They correspond to wave numbers _ = i = I in
equation (9). The second most powerful system of such waves, with
wave numbers j - i = 2, is depicted in fig. _b. There may be waves
with even higher wave numbers, depending on the condition of the atmo-
sphere. What these waves have in common is that their main peaks are
located in the regions of themagnetic poles, as a consequence of which
8
I
%,
" the remaining elements of the system have fixed positions The wave /7. ° •
i
: diagrams shown in fig. 5 coincide well with the surface pressure wave
_; diagrams statistically compiled from the experiments of E.R. Mustel' (7),i.
|
a)
...._--_.._ !. ,.----kI-H~:Y- ......
t !,_ ._"_ ._t.,.._ ,>-"_.:_'_"_'_
• f,.'l b' J4,', I I ,U 2_- I /'¢
....;-_-'t_ 'r,',:¢'- _......... _:-"'Y,_ _-% I" _r'-':',?_- "1-' ' _ i ,, v i ,_ .,_ -I _r _ . . , :.! _. I
•,,,_:_-;.....%k:.-_,_1-'_%..;.v -"........."=.<_
_,l_,;,-:.J...._K ;J_:- 73.-"_.--i....... ;.... --_.,, "
_:,',--,_'_. I • _...,------*-.:- _ -_ _ .... ;:_._
....:_ ............. ,! ..... ,,
"b) "1
r-.,_-_-;.- r]-___--.L__-._i]]_-,- E --Z: 7 _'_.- ,
',I
_!_,!_ .._ , t"_ _ _: t.'-O_'-,-I 6",_1_ /
' ._.:..i-.... _.-,-'__- - t- -_r'-_ - 't';"_-r- _._..... |
,,_ ",. _ , '_" v,; I
_" " l",', .:..... '_'__:_-: " : ',-3.'
, 1.,,,/
I ---- r.D - •
I',0 [_ 60 I,_l } l_il], _.'0 ,I,
Fig. 5- Diagram of standing temperature waves in
the upper atmo.sphereand pressure on the Earth's surf:.,._-_-
surface caused by increased solar activity.
a -- first wave system (J = I, i = I);
b -- second wave sys%om (j_= 2, i ;- 2).-
T.V. Pokrovskaya (9),.A.V. D'yakow(2), V. Mironovitch (15), E.E
Fedorov (12), and G.T. Walker (16). For comparison, the distribution
of centers of increased and decreased pressure during solar flares, from ..
9
0_ustel',are shownin fig.5b by smallsquares.
The dixgramsin fig._ arc to someextentprognostic.At times /8
of intensified solar activity standing waves of the type shown in
fig, 5 tend to occur. They form a kind of massive background circu-
lation. General synoptic knowledge and the relationship of cyclonic
and anticyclonic circulation to the weather, as sot forth in the mono-
graphs of S.P. Khromov (15), S.T. Pagava (8), A.L. Eats (41 and others
permitus to predict prevailing weather patterns in various geographical
regions when solar activity appears. As we can soe,(fig. 5), the wave
system produced by solar activity leads to the prevalence of an anticyclo-
sonic northeastern flow in the European USSR. it is recognized that
this condition results in a hot, dry summer and a cold winter with
little snowfall. In south-central Siberia and Altai it portends a
summer of cold, damp cyclonic weather. The forecasting methods of
T.V. Pokrovskaya (9) and A,V. D'yakov (2) are based on evaluation of
such conditions. Since solar activity is a regularly recurring phenom-
enon, its influence is a factor in the formulation of climatic weather
standards. It follows that during abatement of solar activity we can
expect weather anomalies contrasting with those observed during intensified
I
]
solar activity. _
The circulation processesthat arise spontaneously in the atmosphere
are so intricate and intense that a single calculation of solar
activity is insufficient for long-range forecasting. But combined
consideration of processes dependent upon the dynamic instability of
the atmosphere, the effect of solar activity, and other factors will
unquestionably contribute to the improvement of long-range forecasts.
l0
B I B LI 0 G RA P H Y
I. Bekoryukov.V.I., Purgansky V.S. Accurate solution of a uniform
system of hydrodynamic equations and some of its capabilities. --
 sAo,1975,vyp.115,e. 5o--58.
2. D'_kov A.V. When the _solar windu mounts. -- Literaturnaya Gazeta,
No, 41e 11 ok_yabry_ 1972g.
5. Ivanov-Eholodny G.S. i dr. Discussion :of experimental results.
V kn.: Issledovaniye atmosfer_<i ionosfer2 v period povyshennoy
solnechnoE aktivnosti (_Research on the atmosphere and ionosphere in
a period of increased solar activityU)._ L., Gidrometeoizdat. 1970, ..
s.
4. Eats A.L. Sozonn_e izmenenia obshchey tsirkul_atsii atmosfery i
dolcosrochn_e pro_nozy pogod_ ("Seasonal changes in the general
circulation of the atmosphere and long-range weather forecasts").
L., Gidrcmeteolzdat. 1960, s.
]
5- Kokin G.A. The reaction of the strato- and mesosphero to sporadic
changes in solar activity. -- B kn.: Issledovaniye atmosferz i ionosfery
v perigd povyshenno_ solnechno[ aktivnosti. L., Gidrometeoizdat, 1970, :.
s. 115 -- 120.
6. Koshel'kov Y.P., Tarasenko D.A. Warming of the stratosphere in
February 1966. -- T_dy T__ 1968, vyp. 8_, s. 69-- 81.
7. Mustel I E.R. Real effects of solar corpuscular flow on the lower
layers of the Sarth=s atmosphere. Symposium on solar-corpuscular effects
in the troposphere and stratosphere. --Nauchnye informatsii, Astrono-
micheskoso scrota A_ SS__SRM., 1971e s. 2 -- 50.
8. Pagava S.T. Printsip.V sostavienia dol_osrochn[1_hpregnozov po_ody
maloy zabla_ovremonnosti (Uprinclples of delayed long-range weather
forecastingU). M., Gidrometeoizdat, 1961, 76 s.
" "....'". - - ,.-_'_..._.'.'_i::..°;.i_.__..i:!:_ _=-.."._.. .".. ....! " .i_.._..'....;'"- II--"'-.".•.:.'.i
- . ,.
9. PokrovskayaT.V. Sinoptiko_k!imatolosicheskiyo_ _elio_eofizichozk![c /9
dol_osrochnye prognozypogody ("Synoptico-climatological and hello-
geophysical long-range weather forecasts"). L., Gidrometeoizdat, 1969, 29_ s. t
10. Reshetov V.D. Vertical motions and the density field in the atmosphere. !
--Trudy_ 1967,vyp.7_,s.6_--78. i
11. Rubashev B.M. Heating of the upper atmosphere layers during magnetic •
storms.-- Izv__GA_Ot. 20, vyp. 6, 1958,s. 5 -- 9.
12. Fedorov E.E. The influence of sunspots on air temperature and
pressure. --izvestiaVG__O t. 100, No. 2.
15. Khromov S.P. Osnov_ ainopticheskoX meteorologii (UFundamentals of
synoptic meteorology_). L., Gidrometeoizdat, 1948.
14. Blamont I.E., Luton I.M. Direct measurements and monitoring of the
temperature of the neutral atmosphere from 200 to 550 km of altitude in
the magnetic storm of Sept. -- Oct. 1969. Service d'Astronomie Centre
Nation_l de la Recherche scientifique 91-- verrieres-le-Buisson,
f. 18, 1970.
I_. gironovitch V. Stratospheric-troposheric evolution and geomagnetic
activity. --Beitrae_e zur Ph_slkder Atmos_haere, Bd. 40, No. 5,1967.
16. Walker G.T. Correlation in seasonal variation of weather, Vi
sunspots and pressure. -- Mem. Ind. Mot. Det__ 1915, vol. 21, pt. 12.
F_
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12


The mechanism of temperature and pressure changes in the Earth's atmosphere during solar flares

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