Stormy Space Weather Takes a Toll on Ozone

August 2, 2001 4:22 AM

Stormy Space Weather Takes a Toll on Ozone A new study confirms a long-held theory that large solar storms rain electrically charged particles down on Earth's atmosphere and deplete the upper-level ozone for weeks to months thereafter. Said Charles Jackman, a researcher at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Laboratory for Atmospheres and lead author of the study: "[W]hen these solar proton events occur you can see immediately a change in the atmosphere, so you have a clear cause and effect."
posted by dagny (4 comments total)

that flare animation is awesome.
posted by th3ph17 at 10:40 AM on August 2, 2001

i think the EPA should petition the sun to cease all such environmentally unfriendly behavior. maybe the sun should sign the Kyoto accord.
posted by adampsyche at 10:48 AM on August 2, 2001

If you use Linux, and have a window manager that supports dockapps, then I can recommend wmSpaceWeather for your instant source of solar activity.

[ adampsyche: the sun, being composed entirely of hydrogen and helium, doesn't need to curb its carbon emissions... ;) ]
posted by holgate at 10:52 AM on August 2, 2001

i know. i was kidding.
posted by adampsyche at 10:55 AM on August 2, 2001