MOSCOW, Mar 29< /strong> Physicists from St. Petersburg State University and other Russian universities, together with colleagues from the Davos Physical and Meteorological Observatory, have proved that up to a quarter of the Earth's ozone layer can be destroyed in a day of geomagnetic storms, the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education said.
They noted that scientists around the world pay great attention to the study of the ozone layer and climatic conditions on Earth. This requires taking into account natural and anthropogenic factors acting in the atmosphere, from the surface of the planet to near-Earth space.
The destruction of the ozone layer is often associated with precipitation of high-energy protons, electrons and alpha particles that enter the atmosphere from the magnetosphere — the Earth's plasma shell, the physical properties of which are determined by the magnetic field and its interaction with streams of charged particles. As a result, free radicals are formed, which destroy ozone.
«We found that during geomagnetic disturbancesin a polar atmosphere, the concentration of radicals increases. This leads to the destruction of ozone at the heights of the mesosphere during the day. The maximum destruction we found was 14-25 percent at an altitude of about 75 kilometers. That is, magnetospheric storms can destroy up to a quarter of the available ozone on this surface,» said Irina Mironova, head of the section «Magnetosphere and the influence of energetic particles on the atmosphere» of the Laboratory for the Study of the Ozone Layer and Upper Atmosphere of St. Petersburg State University.
Specialists obtained detailed data on the number of particles in the atmosphere using balloon measurements of X-rays associated with so-called energetic electrons precipitating into the atmosphere. Observations were carried out over Apatity in the Murmansk region. To assess the destruction of the ozone layer, a special mathematical model was used, which takes into account various processes occurring in the atmosphere.
In addition, for a more complete and detailed study, scientists from St Petersburg University have created a model that allows you to calculate the temperature and concentration of neutral gases, free electrons and ions involved in more than 300 different reactions — for example, including nitrogen and hydrogen catalytic cycles of ozone destruction .
The results obtained by St Petersburg University scientists can be used to more accurately predict the future ozone layer and Earth's climate, as well as to analyze radio wave propagation.