Shielded by the wind: the influence of the interstellar medium on the environment of Earth
Shielded by the wind: the influence of the interstellar medium on the environment of Earth
复制标题
风的屏蔽:星际介质对地球环境的影响
DOI:
10.1016/s1364-6826(02)00078-0
复制
发表时间:
2002
影响因子:
1.9
通讯作者:
O. Stawicki
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
K. Scherer;H. Fichtner;O. Stawicki
We report on the recent studies on the long-term influence of cosmic rays on the Earth's environment. While on short time-scales solar activity is the driver for atmospheric changes suspected to be due to cosmic rays, for long time-scales the heliosphere, i.e. the circumsolar region occupied by the expanding part of the Sun's atmosphere, has to be considered. The heliosphere is identified as an important shield against interstellar influences and hazards. It has been demonstrated by quantitative modelling that a change of the interstellar medium surrounding the heliosphere as a result of the Sun's quasi-Keplerian motion around the galactic center triggers significant changes of planetary environments caused by enhanced fluxes of neutral atoms as well as by the increased cosmic ray fluxes. We give a compilation of recent space science results of interest to the atmospheric science community.