Scientists have discovered that powerful solar particle eruptions can cause serious damage to Earth's ozone layer. This can lead to an increase in the level of ultraviolet radiation on the planet's surface for several years.
A recent study showed that a strong solar particle eruption can deplete the ozone layer, increase the level of UV radiation on the surface, and enhance DNA damage. However, the situation becomes critical when such an eruption coincides with a period of weak Earth's magnetic field. In this case, ozone damage will last for six years, UV levels will rise by 25%, leading to a 50% increase in DNA damage from solar radiation.
Earth's magnetic field provides critical protection from solar radiation. It acts like a giant magnet, deflecting charged particles. However, the field strength changes over time. Over the last century, the North magnetic pole shifted 40 kilometers per year, and the total field strength decreased by 6%.
Geological records indicate periods when Earth's magnetic field was very weak or non-existent. The consequences of this can be seen in the example of Mars, which lost its global magnetic field in the distant past, along with a significant portion of its atmosphere.
Scientists have found traces of extremely powerful solar events
Solar events, also known as solar flares or solar storms, are powerful releases of energy particles, mainly protons, from the surface of the Sun in Earth's history. Some of them were thousands of times stronger than anything recorded by modern instruments. Such extreme events occur approximately once every few thousand years. The last similar event occurred around the year 993 AD.
Researchers suggest that a combination of a weak magnetic field and extreme solar events could have influenced the evolution of life on Earth. For example, the last period of weak magnetic field, which began 42,000 years ago and lasted approximately 1000 years, coincided with the disappearance of Neanderthals in Europe and the extinction of megafauna in Australia.
Scientists also link the origin of multicellular animals at the end of the Ediacaran periodThe Ediacaran period (or Ediacara) is the last period of the Precambrian era, which lasted approximately from 635 to 541 million years ago. and the rapid evolution of various animal groups during the Cambrian explosionThe Cambrian explosion is a relatively short period (about 13-25 million years) that occurred at the beginning of the Cambrian epoch, during which many major animal groups emerged. This period lasted approximately from 541 to 520 million years ago and is characterized by a sharp increase in the diversity of complex multicellular organisms. with geomagnetism and high levels of ultraviolet light. Of particular interest is the simultaneous evolution of eyes and hard body shells in several unrelated animal groups. Unrelated groups refer to organisms that do not have a close common ancestor and belong to different evolutionary branches. For example, mollusks, arthropods, and vertebrates developed eyes independently of each other. Scientists consider this parallel evolution as the best way to detect and avoid harmful UV rays.
Comments (0)
There are no comments for now