Estimation of Cosmic-Ray-Induced Atmospheric Ionization and Radiation at Commercial Aviation Flight Altitudes

The main source of the ionization of the Earth’s atmosphere is the cosmic radiation that depends on solar activity as well as geomagnetic activity. Galactic cosmic rays constitute a permanent radiation background and contribute significantly to the radiation exposure inside the atmosphere. In this w...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied sciences 2022-05, Vol.12 (11), p.5297
Main Authors: Makrantoni, Panagiota, Tezari, Anastasia, Stassinakis, Argyris N., Paschalis, Pavlos, Gerontidou, Maria, Karaiskos, Pantelis, Georgakilas, Alexandros G., Mavromichalaki, Helen, Usoskin, Ilya G., Crosby, Norma, Dierckxsens, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altitude
Atmosphere
Atmospheric ionization
Aviation
Calcium channels
Cosmic radiation
Cosmic rays
Earth
Earth surface
Flight
flight level
Galactic cosmic rays
Ionization
Magnetic fields
Radiation
Radiation effects
Software
Solar activity
Solar cycle
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The main source of the ionization of the Earth’s atmosphere is the cosmic radiation that depends on solar activity as well as geomagnetic activity. Galactic cosmic rays constitute a permanent radiation background and contribute significantly to the radiation exposure inside the atmosphere. In this work, the cosmic-ray-induced ionization of the Earth’s atmosphere, due to both solar and galactic cosmic radiation during the recent solar cycles 23 (1996–2008) and 24 (2008–2019), was studied globally. Estimations of the ionization were based on the CRAC:CRII model by the University of Oulu. The use of this model allowed for extensive calculations from the Earth’s surface (atmospheric depth 1033 g/cm2) to the upper limit of the atmosphere (atmospheric depth 0 g/cm2). Monte Carlo simulations were performed for the estimation quantities of radiobiological interest with the validated software DYASTIMA/DYASTIMA-R. This study was focused on specific altitudes of interest, such as the common flight levels used by commercial aviation.
ISSN:2076-3417
2076-3417
DOI:10.3390/app12115297