21GRD02 BIOSPHERE - Metrology for Earth Biosphere: Cosmic rays, ultraviolet radiation and fragility of ozone shield
Published March 13, 2025 | Version v1
Journal article Open

BIOSPHERE measurement campaign from January 2024 to March 2024 and in May 2024: Effects of the solar events on the radiation belts, UV radiation and ozone in the atmosphere

Authors/Creators

  • 1. ROR icon UCLouvain
  • 2. Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy
  • 3. Solar-Terrestrial Center of Excellence, Royal Belgian Institute for Space Aeronomy (BIRA-IASB), Brussels, Belgium
  • 4. Earth and Life Institute—Climate Sciences (ELI-C), Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium
  • 5. Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB),
  • 6. Centre for Mathematical Plasma Astrophysics, Katholiek Universiteit Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
  • 7. Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium (IRM-KMI), Brussels, Belgium
  • 8. Nuclear Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Rez, Czech Republic
  • 9. Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering, Czech Technical University, Prague, Czech Republic
  • 10. University Research Institute of Maternal & child Health & Precision Medicine, National & Kapodistrian University of Athens, Medical School, Athens, Greece
  • 11. Biomedical Research Foundation of the Academy of Athens, Athens, Greece
  • 12. DNA Damage Laboratory, Department of Physics School of Applied Mathematical and Physical Sciences, National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Athens, Greece
  • 13. MPG MPIK: Max Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics, Heidelberg, Germany
  • 14. Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, List, Laboratoire National Henri Becquerel (LNE-LNHB), F-91129, Palaiseau, France
  • 15. Czech Metrology Institute (CMI), Brno, Czech Republic
  • 16. ADVACAM, Prague, Czech Republic
  • 17. DWD, MOL-RAO Deutscher Wetterdienst, Meteorologisches Observatorium Lindenberg—Richard-Aßmann-Observatorium, Lindenberg (Tauche), Germany
  • 18. Institute of Experimental Physics, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Košice, Slovak Republic
  • 19. Eutelsat, One Web, London, United Kingdom
  • 20. European Space Agency (ESA), European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC), Noordwijk, The Netherlands
  • 21. Laser Remote Sensing Unit, Department of Physics, National & Technical University of Athens, Zografou, Greece
  • 22. Laboratory of Atmospheric Processes and their Impacts, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
  • 23. VSB Technical University of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic

Description

In this work, we analyzed simultaneous observations of solar particles and solar electromagnetic ultraviolet (UV) radiation during solar events from January 2024 to May 2024. Measurement campaigns to study the effects of space radiation on the terrestrial atmosphere were conducted in the framework of the project BIOSPHERE. We show the results of the campaign in Brussels from 1 January 2024 to 31 March 2024, during which several solar energetic particle (SEP) events were observed by the spacecraft GOES and OMNI, together with two big geomagnetic storms in March 2024 and May 2024 associated with solar eruptions. The last two events combine the arrival of a SEP event with a geomagnetic storm. On 11 May 2024, the biggest geomagnetic storm for the last 20 years was observed. These events enabled us to identify effects due to UV, solar particles, and geomagnetic storms. The impact of these events on the terrestrial radiation belts, illustrated by satellite observations like PROBA-V/EPT and on the atmospheric ozone using AURA/MLS is demonstrated. For the measurement campaign, muon and neutron monitors showed a Forbush decrease only during the geomagnetic storm at the end of March 2024 and in May 2024. Complemented by a simulation of radiation effects on the ionization rate of the atmosphere as a function of the altitude, the extensive range of different observations available during this measurement campaign demonstrated that SEP and geomagnetic storms due to solar eruptions had very different effects on the terrestrial atmosphere. The geomagnetic storms mainly modified the energetic electrons trapped in the space environment of the Earth and affected the ionization of the atmosphere above 60 km. They also modified the cosmic ray injections, mainly at high latitudes, creating Forbush decrease for the most intense ones. SEP events injected energetic protons in the atmosphere that could penetrate deeper in the atmosphere because they had more energy than the electrons. They could impact ozone, mainly at high altitude in the thermosphere. Solar activity variation associated with the rotation of the solar active regions in 27 days modulated UV. The measurements of these electromagnetic and particle radiations are crucial because they have important health implications.

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