St. Petersburg University Physicists: Magnetic Storms Can Destroy a Quarter of Earth’s Ozone Layer in One Day
During the day, during geomagnetic storms, up to a quarter of the Earth’s ozone layer can be destroyed. This conclusion was drawn by physicists from St. Petersburg State University and a number of other Russian universities, as well as scientists from the Physical and Meteorological Observatory in Davos.
The ozone layer is destroyed by high energy protons, electrons and alpha particles. This can happen when the earth’s magnetic field changes, that is, first of all, during magnetic storms.
The maximum destruction at an altitude of about 75 kilometers was 14 to 25 percent, said Irina Mironova, an employee of the Laboratory for Ozone Layer and Upper Atmosphere Research at St. Petersburg State University.
