Energy-generating aurora formation produces low-energy (blue) and high-energy (yellow) electrons. High-energy “relativistic” electrons can cause localized ozone depletion. Loan PsA project
Impulse aurora lights are a rare but magical sight. Now, scientists believe that they may be related to the depletion of some ozone.
Computer simulations explain how electrons with broadband energy rain in the upper-middle atmosphere of the Earth during a phenomenon known as stunning aurora. The results were published in the journal Geophysical research letters, suggest that higher energy electrons from this process could cause the depletion of some of the ozone in the mesosphere, about 60 miles[60 km]above the Earth’s surface. The study was a collaboration between researchers in Japan, including the University of Nagoya, among “US partners”, including: NASA,
The north-south lights that people are usually aware of are called aurora borealis և australis, like red, green, and purple curtains that spread across the night sky. But there is another type of aurora that is less common. A vibrating aurora is more like a vague cloud hovering over the sky.
Scientists have only recently developed technologies that allow them to understand how arterial aurora forms. Now an international research team led by Yogizumi Miyoshi of the Nagoya University Space-Earth Environmental Research Institute has developed a theory to explain the high-energy electron precipitation of pulsed auroras and performed computer simulations that confirm their theory.
Their findings suggest that both low- and high-energy electrons originate from the interaction of electrons խմ electrons in the Earth’s magnetosphere at the same time.
Choir channels plasma waves generated near the magnetic equator. After forming, they travel north-south, interacting with electrons in the Earth’s magnetosphere. This interaction transmits energy to the electrons, scattering them in the upper atmosphere, where they release the energy of light, which appears as a pulse aurora.
The electrons that result from these interactions range from low energy, just a few hundred kilowatts of volts, to very high energy, a few thousand kilowatts of volts, or “megaelectrons” volts.
Miyoshi և and his team believe that the high-energy electrons in the pulse aurora are “relativistic” electrons, otherwise known as killer electrons, due to damage caused by the penetration of satellites.
“Our theory is that so-called killer electrons, which sit in the middle atmosphere and are associated with erupting aurora, may be involved in ozone depletion,” said Miyoshi.
The team later plans to test their theory by studying the measurements made during the delivery of space rockets, called “loss by ear microbial pulsations” (LAMP), which should be launched in December 2021. (A AXA), Nagoya University և other institutions. LAMP experiments will be able to observe killer electrons associated with pulse aurora.
Reference. “Relativistic Electron Microbursts as High-Energy Tail of Aurora Electron” by Y. Miyoshi, S. Saito, S. Kurita, K. Asamura, K. Hosokawa, T. Sakanoi, T. Mitani, Y. Ogawa, S Oyama , F. Tsuchiya, SL Jones, AN Jaynes and JB Blake, October 13, 2020 Geophysical research letters,
DOI: 10.1029 / 2020GL090360:
published online: Geophysical research letters October 13, 2020 է Available at DOI: 10.1029 / 2020GL090360.