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At least 217 records · Page 12

Solar protons E greater than 100 Mev incident over Antarctica during January- February 1967.

Commencing at 0825 +a -1 UT on January 28, 1967, a large and prolonged increase in the intensity of penetrating charged particles was observed by balloon-borne instruments floating over Byrd Station, Antarctica. (80°S, 120°W). A peak intensity of approximately 50 protons per cm 2 -sec-steradian with E> 100 MeV occurred at about 1230 UT on the 28th. The event was under observation almost continuously over a period of about 100 hours until the intensity decayed below cosmic-ray background on February 1. The initial decay was rapid but, some 40 hours after onset, went over into a slow exponential decay characterized by a 20 hour time-constant. The decay phase of an additional, though considerably less intense, event was observed on February 3 and 4. Presumably both events had their origins in major disturbances on the far side of the sun since nether event has been definitely linked to any feature which existed on the visible disk within an appropriate time interval. Results pertaining to the time-intensity profile and to the energy spectrum for protons E> 100 MeV are presented for the January 29 event. Comparison of the balloon results with neutron-monitor and satellite measurements and with models of interplanetary diffusion has led to some conclusions regarding the role of small-angle scattering by irregularities and by the random walk of magnetic lines of force relative to the mean interplanetary field within the orbit of earth.

Energy spectrum↗

A survey of solar protons and alpha differential spectra between 1 and greater than 400 MeV/nucleon

Attempts to systematically measure and fit a large sample of flare spectra from IMP 7 and 8 satellite data to determine the spectral forms that characterize the data and the range of spectral slopes are reported. Proton spectra are constructed covering the range 0.9 to over 400 MeV, and alpha fluxes from 1.4-80 MeV/nucleon. The event spectra are composed of fluxes measured at different times at each energy, and fitting procedures were employed such as a power law in kinetic energy, an exponential in rigidity, an exponential in energy, and a Bessel function of momentum/nucleon. Best fits were obtained with the exponential in rigidity and the Bessel function, with the Bessel function having a better numerical accuracy for all 21 proton spectra considered.

Mcguire, R. E.↗

A Model Study of the Impact of Magnetic Field Reversal on Atmospheric Composition during Solar Proton Events

During a polarity transition of the Earth's magnetic field, the structure and strength of the field change significantly from their present values. This will alter the global pattern of charged particle precipitation into the atmosphere. Thus, particle precipitation is possible into regions that are at the moment effectively shielded by the Earth's magnetic field. A two-dimensional global fbHy coupled chemistry, radiation, and transport model of the atmosphere has been used to investigate how the increased particle precipitation affects the chemical composition of the middle and lower atmosphere. Ozone losses resulting from large energetic particle events are found to increase significantly, with resultant losses similar to those observed m the Antarctic ozone hole of the 1990s. This results in significant increases in surface UV-B radiation as well as changes in stratospheric temperature and circulation over a period of several months after large particle events.

Sinnhuber, Miaiam↗

Solar Proton Transport within an ICRU Sphere Surrounded by a Complex Shield: Combinatorial Geometry

The 3DHZETRN code, with improved neutron and light ion (Z (is) less than 2) transport procedures, was recently developed and compared to Monte Carlo (MC) simulations using simplified spherical geometries. It was shown that 3DHZETRN agrees with the MC codes to the extent they agree with each other. In the present report, the 3DHZETRN code is extended to enable analysis in general combinatorial geometry. A more complex shielding structure with internal parts surrounding a tissue sphere is considered and compared against MC simulations. It is shown that even in the more complex geometry, 3DHZETRN agrees well with the MC codes and maintains a high degree of computational efficiency.

Wilson, John W.↗

Solar Proton Transport Within an ICRU Sphere Surrounded by a Complex Shield: Ray-trace Geometry

A computationally efficient 3DHZETRN code with enhanced neutron and light ion (Z is less than or equal to 2) propagation was recently developed for complex, inhomogeneous shield geometry described by combinatorial objects. Comparisons were made between 3DHZETRN results and Monte Carlo (MC) simulations at locations within the combinatorial geometry, and it was shown that 3DHZETRN agrees with the MC codes to the extent they agree with each other. In the present report, the 3DHZETRN code is extended to enable analysis in ray-trace geometry. This latest extension enables the code to be used within current engineering design practices utilizing fully detailed vehicle and habitat geometries. Through convergence testing, it is shown that fidelity in an actual shield geometry can be maintained in the discrete ray-trace description by systematically increasing the number of discrete rays used. It is also shown that this fidelity is carried into transport procedures and resulting exposure quantities without sacrificing computational efficiency.

Slaba, Tony C.↗