Elsevier

Advances in Space Research

Volume 44, Issue 10, 16 November 2009, Pages 1124-1137
Advances in Space Research

Long-term (50 years) measurements of cosmic ray fluxes in the atmosphere

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asr.2008.10.038Get rights and content

Abstract

Since the middle of 1957 till present time the group of researchers of P.N. Lebedev Physical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences has carried out the regular balloon borne measurements of charged particle fluxes in the atmosphere. The measurements are performed at polar (northern and southern) and middle latitudes and cover the interval of heights from the ground level up to 30–35 km. Standard detectors of particles (gas-discharged counters) have been used. More than 80,000 measurements of cosmic ray fluxes in the atmosphere have been performed to the present time. In the data analysis the geomagnetic field and the Earth’s atmosphere are used as cosmic ray spectrometers.

The main goals of observations are the investigations of galactic cosmic ray modulation in the heliosphere, solar cosmic ray generation and propagation, precipitation of energetic electrons from the Earth’s magnetosphere, study of the role of charged particles in the atmospheric processes. Now we have got a large amount of unique data on galactic and solar particles in the energy range of 0.1–20 GeV for the period of 50 years (1957–2007).

In this paper, the main results obtained from the long-term measurements of charged particles in the atmosphere on the problems mentioned above are presented.

Section snippets

Brief history

In the 1950s academician S.N. Vernov (Fig. 1) suggested to perform the regular balloon borne measurements of cosmic ray (CR) fluxes in the Earth’s atmosphere. The main goals of the experiment included a study of galactic CR modulation processes, acceleration mechanism of charged particles in powerful solar flares and propagation of solar particles in the interplanetary space. In the middle of 1957 S.N. Vernov together with his friend professor A.N. Charakhchyan (Fig. 2) started this experiment.

Devices for cosmic ray flux monitoring in the atmosphere

The devices used in the measurements of charged particles in the atmosphere include detectors of particles, standard radiosondes, ground-based facility for receiving of radio signals from sounds, and installations to calibrate particle detectors and pressure sensors.

The method of radio pulse transmission from each particle registered with detectors is used to get the information on particle flux in the atmosphere. Also we have got the information from the pressure sensor at the several

Sites and time intervals of regular measurements: the experimental data

In each flight of a radiosonde we obtain the data on omnidirectional and vertical fluxes of charged particles versus altitude (the atmospheric pressure) from the ground level up to 30–35 km. The measurements are carried out at the latitudes with different geomagnetic cutoff Rc. For the data analysis we use the atmosphere as a natural calorimeter for particles. At each level of pressure in the atmosphere the count rate of detectors is defined by primary particles with rigidity above some cutoff Ra

Galactic cosmic rays

It is useful to analyze CR fluxes at the maximum of absorption curves Nm where we have high statistics and avoid possible uncertainties from pressure sensors. In Fig. 9 the time dependences of monthly averaged values of omnidirectional flux Nm are depicted for the northern and southern polar regions (Rc = 0.6 and 0.03 GV correspondingly) and for the middle latitude (Rc = 2.4 GV). The CR variations due to 11-year cycles of solar activity and 22-year solar magnetic cycles are distinctly seen.

The

Solar cosmic rays

One of the first achievements of regular balloon measurements of charged particles in the atmosphere was the discovery of rather frequent intrusions of solar CRs in the Earth’s atmosphere (Rymko et al., 1959, Charakhchyan et al., 1960). During the periods of high solar activity the rate of solar CR events at polar latitudes in the stratosphere appeared to be around 5 per year, whereas only six events were recorded by the ground-based installations in 1942–1956. The balloon measurements were the

Observations of energetic electron precipitation into the polar atmosphere

It is known that during geomagnetic disturbances the electrons trapped and accelerated in the Earth’s magnetosphere can precipitate into the atmosphere. The main physical processes of energy deposition in the atmosphere by electrons are bremsstrahlung, elastic and inelastic scattering of electrons. So the precipitating electrons are practically absorbed at altitudes ∼70–100 km (in about 1 g cm−2 of atmospheric depth). However, the bremsstrahlung X-rays generated by these electrons penetrate inward

Cosmic rays and atmospheric processes

The main part of energy of CRs (∼65%) falling on the top of the atmosphere is absorbed in it. But in comparison with the solar electromagnetic energy flux the value of CR energy flux is less by a factor of ∼108. So, at first glance everybody can say that it is not necessary to take into account CRs when atmospheric processes are analyzed. However, such point of view is wrong. Cosmic rays provide a main part of ionization in the bulk of the atmosphere, and thus are main contributors to all

Conclusion

The long-term sets of data obtained from the regular balloon measurements of CR fluxes in the atmosphere from the middle of 1957 up to present time allow to study various natural phenomena such as modulation processes of cosmic rays with energy 0.1–20 GeV, interplanetary propagation of charged particles accelerated during explosive energy releases on the Sun, precipitation of high-energy magnetosphere electrons into the atmosphere, to control radiation in the atmosphere, to investigate a role of

Acknowledgments

This work is partly supported by Russian Foundation for Basic Research Grants Nos. 07-02-01019, 08-02-01018k, 08-02-00054, and 08-02-91006.

The authors thank the reviewers for their helpful comments and remarks on this manuscript.

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