Quantifying Energetic Particle Precipitation over Canada

在我们的大气层上方是高能粒子的漩涡海洋：范艾伦辐射带。这些粒子被地球磁场捕获，通常被限制在近地空间，但自然事件经常迫使它们进入我们的大气层。当这种情况发生时，它们会以磁极为中心，以两个带为中心降雨；加拿大大部分地区位于北部带之下。这种所谓的“高能粒子降水”(EPP)会影响空间环境、经过它的卫星以及地球大气层。通过抽干近地空间的高能粒子，否则可能会击中卫星并使其电子设备降级，EPP为我们的技术带来了一个不那么恶劣的环境。但在大气中，粒子雨有许多后果，影响无线电传播并改变高层大气的化学成分。特别是，EPP驱动的高层大气中的臭氧消耗可能与地球的辐射平衡有关。理解EPP将需要全球许多研究人员的工作。这项拟议的研究将量化加拿大西部的EPP总量，旨在确定其自然原因，并量化其对空间和大气环境的影响。研究方法包括分析卫星、气球和地面数据，并结合适当的计算和理论模型。虽然这项研究的重点是地区性的，但它解决了一个与全球相关的问题，即磁层对地球整个大气层的影响。

Above our atmosphere is a swirling sea of high-energy particles: the Van Allen radiation belts. Trapped by Earth's magnetic field, these particles are usually confined to near-Earth space, but natural events frequently force them down into our atmosphere. When that happens, they rain down in two bands centered on the magnetic poles; most of Canada lies under the northern band. This so-called "Energetic Particle Precipitation" (EPP) affects the space environment, the satellites travelling through it, and Earth's atmosphere. By draining near-Earth space of the high-energy particles that might otherwise hit satellites and degrade their electronics, EPP leads to a less hostile environment for our technology. But in the atmosphere, the rain of particles has many consequences, affecting radio propagation and changing the chemistry of the upper atmosphere. In particular, EPP-driven ozone depletion in the upper atmosphere may be relevant to Earth's radiative balance. Understanding EPP will require the work of many researchers across the globe. The proposed research will quantify the amount of EPP over Western Canada, aim to identify its natural causes and quantify its effects on the space and atmospheric environments. Research methods include the analysis of satellite, balloon-based and ground-based data in conjunction with appropriate computational and theoretical models. Although regionally-focussed, the proposed research attacks a question of global relevance, relating to magnetospheric effects on Earth's entire atmosphere.