Astrophysics, abstract
astro-ph/0601711

From: Brian Thomas [view email]

Date: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 19:14:10 GMT (839kb)

Gamma-ray bursts and terrestrial planetary atmospheres

Authors: Brian C. Thomas (Washburn University, Kansas), Adrian L. Melott (University of Kansas)

Comments: 12 pages including 5 figures (4 in color). Submitted to New Journal of Physics for special issue "Focus on Gamma-Ray Bursts"

We describe results of modeling the effects of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) within a few kiloparsecs of an Earth-like planet. 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.

http://arxiv.org/abs/astro-ph/0601711