Gamma-ray bursts and terrestrial planetary atmospheres

Details Gamma-ray bursts and terrestrial planetary atmospheres Gamma-ray bursts and terrestrial planetary atmospheres

2006-01-31

arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0601711v2

New J.Phys. 8 (2006) 120

Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astrophysics

12 pages including 5 figures (4 in color). Added discussion of GRB rates and biological effects. Accepted for publication in N

Scientific paper

10.1088/1367-2630/8/7/120

We describe results of modeling the effects on Earth-like planets of long-duration gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) within a few kiloparsecs. A primary effect is generation of nitrogen oxide compounds which deplete ozone. Ozone depletion leads to an increase in solar UVB radiation at the surface, enhancing DNA damage, particularly in marine microorganisms such as phytoplankton. In addition, we expect increased atmospheric opacity due to buildup of nitrogen dioxide produced by the burst and enhanced precipitation of nitric acid. We review here previous work on this subject and discuss recent developments, including further discussion of our estimates of the rates of impacting GRBs and the possible role of short-duration bursts.

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