Analyzing the Impact of Space Weather on Stratospheric Dynamics: Insights from Be-7 Cosmogenic Radionuclide Concentration

The concentrations of the radionuclide Be-7 are reliable indicators of various atmospheric processes, and primarily determined by the solar activity level and space weather conditions. The highest values of cosmic radiation are observed during the solar minima because, at that time the penetrability of the Earth’s and Sun magnetosphere is largest. In our work, we try to contribute to better understanding of the dynamics of processes by associating them with long-term trends of stratospheric temperature dynamics.

We investigate mainly the coupling of concentrations of the cosmogenic radionuclide Be-7 in the longitudinal view during the years 1986 – 2023 (time series of activity concentration of Be-7 in aerosols evaluated by the corresponding activity in aerosols on a weekly basis at the National Radiation Protection Institute Monitoring Section in Prague) to space weather parameters (Kp planetary index, disturbance storm time Dst, proton density, proton flux), and stratospheric dynamics parameters (temperature, zonal component of wind, O₃, and ERA5 temperatures profiles).

We compare Be-7 concentrations during periods of strong solar and geomagnetic storms with periods of low solar activity in the longitudinal view (years 1986 – 2023). On short timescales, solar proton flux 60 MeV induces only small changes of the Be-7 concentration in aerosols in several days. On a long timescale, solar radio flux and disturbance storm time have impact on the Be-7 concentration in aerosols. The Be-7 concentration trend component (TC_t) is significantly influenced by the trend of solar activity degree and by variations in the geomagnetic field on this time scale.