2012/11/30 by Dimitra Atri, Adrian L. Melott · 2 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Earth and Planetary Sciences · Physics and Astronomy · #Astro and Planetary Science #Atmospheric Ozone and Climate #Planetary Science and Exploration #astro-ph.HE #physics.ao-ph #q-bio.PE
paper · pdf · doi:10.1016/j.astropartphys.2013.03.001
published as Astroparticle Physics, Volume 53, January 2014, Pages 186-190 · Published in Astroparticle Physics
openalex publication_date 2013/03/13 · arxiv created 2014/03/05 · arxiv updated 2014/03/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
"The investigation into the possible effects of cosmic rays on living organisms will also offer great interest." - Victor F. Hess, Nobel Lecture, December 12, 1936 High-energy radiation bursts are commonplace in our Universe. From nearby solar flares to distant gamma ray bursts, a variety of physical processes accelerate charged particles to a wide range of energies, which subsequently reach the Earth. Such particles contribute to a number of physical processes occurring in the Earth system. A large fraction of the energy of charged particles gets deposited in the atmosphere, ionizing the atmosphere, causing changes in its chemistry and affecting the global electric circuit. Remaining secondary particles contribute to the background dose of cosmic rays on the surface and parts of the subsurface region. Life has evolved over the past ~ 3 billion years in presence of this background radiation, which itself has varied considerably during the period. As demonstrated by the Miller-Urey experiment, lightning plays a very important role in the formation of complex organic molecules, which are the building blocks of more complex structures forming life. There is growing evidence of increase in the lightning rate with increasing flux of charged particles. Is there a connection between enhanced rate of cosmic rays and the origin of life? Cosmic ray secondaries are also known to damage DNA and cause mutations, leading to cancer and other diseases. It is now possible to compute radiation doses from secondary particles, in particular muons and neutrons. Have the variations in cosmic ray flux affected the evolution of life on earth? We describe the mechanisms of cosmic rays affecting terrestrial life and review the potential implications of the variation of high-energy astrophysical radiation on the history of life on earth.