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Team title: Radiation Effects at Aviation Altitudes

Team ID: G3-01

Team Leads:

Participants:
 

Kent Tobiska (Space Environment Technologies, USA), ktobiska@spacenvironment.net

Matthias Meier (German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany), matthias.meier@dlr.de

Yihua Zheng (CCMC, NASA GSFC, USA), yihua.zheng@nasa.gov

Alexander Mishev (University of Oulu, Finland), alexander.mishev@oulu.fi

Hazel Bain (CIRES CU Boulder/NOAA SWPC), hazel.bain@noaa.gov

Irina Kitiashvili (NASA/AMES, USA), irina.n.kitiashvili@nasa.gov

Kai Schennetten (German Aerospace Center (DLR), Germany), kai.schennetten@dlr.de

Adam Kellerman  (UCLA, USA),  akellerman@epss.ucla.edu

Key words: (Aero)space assets functions

Introduction:

The primary source of radiation hazards at aviation altitudes are from GCRs and SEPs. Other speculative radiation sources affecting aviation (if present) might be precipitating energetic electrons from the radiation belt as discussed by Tobiska et al., 2016 and Terrestrial Gamma ray Flashes. Further measurements and analyses need to be done to ascertain their contribution to the atmospheric radiation environment. While ionizing radiation from GCRs and SEPs pose health consequences/risks to airline passengers and crews (human in space in general), Single Event Effects on avionics from high-energy particles and low-energy, thermalized neutrons (via their interactions with nuclei inside avionic systems) are also concerns for aviation. 

Objectives:

1. Making coordinated measurements
2. Model (including rigidity cutoff calculations) performance assessment and improvement 

Outcome
More systematic assessment of model performance under different conditions
Better near realtime monitoring capabilities of radiation hazard levels at aviation altitudes

Action topics:

  • Identify and prepare particle fluences and energy spectra datasets for assimilation, assessment, and optimized exploitation (e.g., machine learning),
  • Investigate the penetration of SEP and GCR into inner magnetosphere and atmosphere,
  • Quantify radiation environment and effects at aviation altitudes

Link to team external website:

https://ccmc.gsfc.nasa.gov/assessment/topics/radiation-all.php