Importance of biologically active aurora-like ultraviolet emission: Stochastic irradiation of Earth and Mars by flares and explosions

Origins of Life and Evolution of the Biosphere

Volumn 34, Issue 5, 2004, Pages 513-532

  Smith, David S ^a   Scalo, John ^a   Wheeler, J Craig ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN   (United States)

Author keywords

atmospheres; biological evolution; flare stars; habitable planets; ionizing radiation; mutation; planetary atmospheres; radiative transfer; ultraviolet environment

Indexed keywords

EARLY EARTH; IONIZATION; MARS; ORIGIN OF LIFE; PALEOATMOSPHERE; PLANETARY ATMOSPHERE; ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION;

ASTRONOMY; ATMOSPHERE; CHEMISTRY; CONFERENCE PAPER; EVOLUTION; EXPLOSION; RADIATION;

ATMOSPHERE; EARTH (PLANET); EVOLUTION; EXPLOSIONS; MARS; RADIATION;

EID: 5444245153     PISSN: 01696149     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1023/B:ORIG.0000043120.28077.c9     Document Type: Conference Paper

References (76)

1. Aschwanden, M. J., Tarbell, T. D., Nightingale, R. W., Schrijver, C. J., Title, A., Kankelborg, C. C., Martens, P., and Warren, H. P.: 2000, Time Variability of the 'Quiet' Sun Observed with TRACE. II. Physical Parameters, Temperature Evolution, and Energetics of Extreme-Ultraviolet Nanoflares, Astrophys. J. 535, 1047-1065.
2. Ayres, T. R.: 1997, Evolution of the Solar Ionizing Flux, J. Geophys. Res. E102, 1641-1651.
3. Band, D, Matteson, J., Ford, L., Schaefer, B., Palmer, D., Teegarden, B., Cline, T., Briggs, M., Paciesas, W., Pendleton, G., Fishman, G., Kouveliotou, C., Meegan, C., Wilson, R. and Lestrade, P.: 1993, BATSE Observations of γ-ray Burst Spectra. I - Spectral Diversity, Astrophys. J. 413, 281-292.
4. Band, D.: 2001, The Energy Distribution of γ-Ray Bursts, Astrophys. J. 563, 582-591.
5. Baumstark-Khan, C. and Facius, R.: 2000, Life under Conditions of Ionizing Radiation, in Horneck, G. and Baumstark-Khan, C. (eds), Astrobiology: The Quest for the Conditions of Life, Springer-Verlag, NY, 261-283.
6. Brack, A.: 2000, Water, the Spring of Life, in Horneck, G. and Baumstark-Khan, C. (eds), Astrobiology: The Quest for the Conditions of Life, Springer-Verlag, NY, 79-88.
7. Brasseur, G. P., Orlando, J. J. and Tyndall, G. S. (eds.): 1999, Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Change, Oxford Univ. Press, NY.
8. Brown, R. T.: 1973: Ionospheric Effects of Cosmic γ-ray Bursts, Nature 246, 83-84.
9. Carr, M. H.: 1999, Retention of an Atmosphere on Early Mars. J. Geophys. Res. 104, 21,897-21,909.
10. Chabrier, G.: 2001, The Galactic Disk Mass Budget. I. Stellar Mass Function and Density, Astrophys. J. 554, 1274-1281.
11. Chamberlain, J. W.: 1961, Physics of the Aurora and Airglow, Academic Press, NY.
12. Cockell, C. S.: 2000a, The Ultraviolet Radiation Environment of Earth and Mars: Past and Present, in Horneck, G. and Baumstark-Khan, C. (eds.), Astrobiology: The Quest for the Conditions of Life, Springer-Verlag, NY, 219-232.
13. Cockell, C. S.: 2000b, The Ultraviolet History of the Terrestrial Planets-Implications for Biological Evolution, Plan. Sp. Sci. 48, 203-214.
14. Cockell, C. S.: 2002, Photobiological Uncertainties in the Archaean and Post-Archaean World, Intern. J. Astrobiol. 1, 31-38.
15. Cordoba-Jabonero, C., Lara, L. M., Mancho, A. M., Marquez, A. and Rodrigo, R.: 2003, Solar Ultraviolet Transfer in the Martian Atmosphere: Biological and Geological Implications, Plan. Sp. Sci. 51, 399-410.
16. Crosby, N. B., Aschwandan, M. J. and Dennis, B. R.: 1993, Frequency Distributions and Correlations of Solar X-ray Flare Parameters, Solar Phys. 143, 275-299.
17. Cully, S. L., Siegmund, O. H. W., Vedder, P. W. and Vallerga, J. V.: 1993, Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer Deep Survey Observations of a Large Flare on AU Microscopii, Astrophys. J. Lett. 414, L49-L52.
18. Ewing, D.: 1995, The Directed Evolution of Radiation Resistance in E. coli. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 216, 549-553.
19. Ewing, D.: 1997, Production of Radiation-Resistant E. coli Strains by Daily X-irradiation, Int. J. Radiat. Biol. 71, 253-258.
20. Farquhar, J., Wing, B. A., McKeegan, K. D., Harris, J. W., Cartigny, P. and Thiemens, M. H.: 2002, Mass-Independent Sulfur of Inclusions in Diamond and Sulfur Recycling on Early Earth, Science 298, 2369-2372.
21. Franck, S., von Bloh, W., Bounama, C., Steffen, M., Schonberner, D. and Schellnhuber, H.-J.: 2000, Habitable Zones in Extrasolar Planetary Systems, in Horneck, G. and Baumstark-Khan, C. (eds), Astrobiology: The Quest for the Conditions of Life, Springer-Verlag, NY, 47-56.
22. Fishman, G. J. and Inan, U. S.: 1988, Observation of an Ionospheric Disturbance Caused by a Gamma-Ray Burst, Nature 331, 418-420.
23. Gehrels, N., Laird, C. M., Jackman, C. H., Cannizzo, J. K., Mettson, B. I. and Chen, W.: 2003, Ozone Depletion from Nearby Supernovae, Astrophys. J. 585, 1169-1176.
24. Gershberg, R. E., Katsova, M. M., Lovkaya, M. -N., Terebizh, A. V. and Shakhovskaya, N. I.: 1999, Catalogue and Bibliography of the UV Ceti-Type Flare Stars and Related Objects in the Solar Vicinity, Astron. Astrophys. Suppl. Ser. 139, 555-558.
25. Gershberg, R. E. and Shakhovskaya, N. I.: 1983, Characteristics of Activity Energetics of the UV Ceti-Type Flare Stars, Astrophys. Sp. Sci. 95, 235-253.
26. Gredel, R., Lepp, S., Dalgarno, A. and Herbst, E.: 1989, Cosmic-Ray-Induced Photodissociation and Photoionization Rates of Interstellar Molecules, Astrophys. J. 347, 289-293.
27. Güdel, M., Guinan, E. F. and Skinner, S. L.: 1997, The X-ray Sun in Time: A Study of the Long-Term Evolution of Coronae of Solar-Type Stars, Astrophys. J. 483, 947-960.
28. Guinan, E. F., Ribas, I. and Harper, G. M.: 2002, Reconstructing the Sun's Magnetic History and Spectral Irradiance Evolution from X-ray, EUV, and FUV Observations of Solar Proxies with Different Ages, in S. Howel, J. Dupois, D. Golumbeck, and J. Cullison (eds), Continuing the Challenge of EUV Astronomy: Current Analysis and Prospects for the Future, Astr. Soc. Pac. Proc. 264, 139-142.
29. 2 on Mars, Icarus 109, 102-120.
30. Hammersley, I. M. and Handscomb, D. C.: 1979, Monte Carlo Methods, Chapman and Hall, London.
31. Henke, B. L., Gullikson, E. M. and Davis, J. C.: 1993, X-ray Interactions: Photoabsorption, Scattering, Transmission, and Reflection at E = 50-30,000 eV, Z = 1-92, Atomic Data and Nuclear Data Tables 54, 181-342.
32. Höflich, P., Wheeler, J. C. and Khokhlov, A.: 1998, Hard X-Rays and γ Rays from Type Ia Supernovae, Astrophy. J. 492, 228-245.
33. Inan, U. S., Lehtinen, N. G., Lev-Tov, S. J., Johnson, M. P., Bell, T. F., and Hurley, K.: 1999, Ionization of the Power Ionosphere by γ-rays from a Magnetar: Detection of a Low Energy (3-10 keV) Component, Geophys. Res. Lett. 26, 3357-3361.
34. Jagger, J.: 1985, Solar-UV Actions on Living Cells, Prager Publ., NY.
35. Jakosky, B. M. and Phillips, R. J.: 2001, Mars' Volatile and Climate History, Nature 412, 237-244.
36. Jones, A. V.: 1974, Aurora, D. Reidel, Dordrecht, Netherlands.
37. Joshi, M. M., Haberle, R. M. and Reynolds, R. T.: 1997, Simulations of the Atmospheres of Synchronously Rotating Terrestrial Planets Orbiting M Dwarfs: Conditions for Atmospheric Collapse and the Implications for Habitability, Icarus 129, 450-465.
38. Kallman, T. R. and McCray, R.: 1982, X-ray Nebular Models, Astrophy. J. Suppl. 50, 263-318.
39. Kalos, M. H. and Whitlock, P. A. 1986, Monte Carlo Methods, Vol. I: Basics, Wiley, NY.
40. Kasting, J. F., Whitmire, D. P. and Reynolds, R. T.: 1993, Habitable Zones around Main Sequence Stars, Icarus, 101, 108-128.
41. Kasturirangan, K., Rao, U. R., Sharma, D. P., Rastogi, R. G. and Chakravarty, S. C.: 1976, Ionospheric Effects of Transient Celestial X-ray and γ-ray Events, Astrophys. Sp. Sci. 42, 57-62.
42. Kolb, V. M., Dworkin, J. P. and Miller, S. L.: 1994, Alternative Bases in the RNA World: The Prebiotic Synthesis of Urazole and Its Ribosides, J. Mol. Evol. 38, 549-557.
43. Leblanc, F. and Johnson, R. E.: 2001, Sputtering of the Martian Atmosphere by Solar Wind Pick-up Ions, Plan. Sp. Sci. 49, 645-656.
44. Lean, J.: 1997, The Sun's Variable Radiation and its Relevance for Earth, Ann. Rev. Astr. Astrophys. 35, 33-67.
45. Lean, J.: 2001, The variability of the Sun: from the Visible to the X-rays, in R. J. Garcia-Lopez, R. Rebolo, and M. R. Zapatero-Osorio, (eds), The 11th Cool Stars, Stellar Systems and the Sun, ASP Conference Series, 233, 109-116.
46. Levy, M. and Miller, S. L.: 1998, The Stability of the RNA Bases: Implications for the Origin of Life, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 95, 7933-7938.
47. Lin, R. P., Feffer, P. T. and Schwarz, R. A.: 2001, Solar Hard X-ray Bursts and Electron Acceleration Down to 8 keV, Astrophys. J. Lett. 557, L125-L128.
48. Lingenfelter, R. E. and Rothschild, R. E.: 2000, γ-Ray and Neutrino Astronomy, in Cox, A. N. (ed), Allen's Astrophysical Quantities, 4th ed., Athlone Press, NY pp. 207-234.
49. + Pick Up Ions, Geophys. Res. Lett. 19, 2151-2154.
50. Lodders, K. and Fegley, B.: 1998, The Planetary Scientist's Companion, Oxford Univ. Press, NY.
51. Molina-Cuberos, G. J., Stumptner, W., Lammer, H. and Komle, N. I.: 2001, Cosmic Ray and UV Radiation Models on the Ancient Martian Surface, Icarus 154, 216-222.
52. Nilsson, A.: 1996, Ultraviolet Reflections: Life under a Thinning Ozone Layer, Wiley and Sons, NY.
53. O'Mongain, E. and Baird, G. A.: 1976, Ionospheric Techniques for the Detection of Transient X-and γ-ray Bursts, Astrophys. Sp. Sci. 42, 63-67.
54. Osawa, S.: 1995, Evolution of the Genetic Code, Oxford Univ. Press, NY
55. Prasad, S. S. and Tarafdar, S. P.: 1983, UV Radiation Field Inside Dense Clouds: Its Possible Existence and Chemical Implications, Astrophys. J. 267, 603-609.
56. Ramaty, R. and Mandzhavidze, N. (eds): 2000, High Energy Solar Physics: Anticipating HESSI, Astr. Soc. Pac. Conf. Series, vol. 206.
57. Rettberg, P. and Rothschild, L. J.: 2000, Ultraviolet Radiation in Planetary Atmospheres and Biological Implications, in Horneck, G. and Baumstark-Khan, C. (eds), Astrobiology: The Quest for the Conditions of Life, Springer-Verlag, NY, 233-243.
58. Rothschild, L. J.: 1999, Microbes and Radiation, in Seckback, J. (ed), Enigmatic Microorganisms and Life in Extreme Environments, Kluwer, Dordrecht, 551-562.
59. Ross, R. R.: 1979, Spectral Formation in Compact X-ray Sources, Astrophy. J. 233, 334-343.
60. Ross, R. R. and Fabian, A. C.: 1993, The Effects of Photoionization on X-ray Reflection Spectra in Active Galactic Nuclei, Mon. Not. Roy. Astron. Soc., 261, 74-82.
61. Rozema, J., van Geel, B, Bjorn, L. O., Lean, J. and Madronich, S.: 2002, Toward Solving the UV Puzzle, Science 296, 1621-1622.
62. Sagan, C. and Shklovskii, I. S. 1966, Intelligent Life in the Universe, Holden-Day, San Francisco.
63. Scalo, J. and Wheeler, J. C.: 2002, Astrophysical and Astrobiological Implications of γ-Ray Burst Properties, Astrophy. J. 566, 723-737.
64. Scalo, J., Wheeler, J. C. and Williams, P.: 2003, Intermittent Jolts of Galactic UV Radiation: Mutagenetic Effects, in Celnikier, L. M. (ed), Frontiers of Life, in press (astro-ph/0104209).
65. Schaefer, B. E., King, J. R. and Deliyannis, C. P.: 2000, Superflares on Ordinary Solar-Type Stars, Astrophys. J., 529, 1026-1030.
66. Setlow, R. B. and Pollard, E. C.: 1962, Molecular Biophysics, Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.
67. Shakhovskaya, N. I.: 1994, Flare Activity Among Nearby Stars, in Greiner, J., Duerbeck, H. W. and Gershberg, R. E. (eds.), Flares and Flashes, Springer-Verlag, NY, pp. 61-62.
68. Sharma, D. P., Jain, A. K., Chakravarty, S. C., Kasturirangan, K., Ramanathan, K. R. and Rao, U. R.: 1972, Possibility of Continuous Monitoring of Celestial X-ray Sources through their Ionization Effects in the Nocturnal D-region Ionosphere, Astrophys. Sp. Sci. 17, 409-425.
69. Tavani, M., Band, D. and Ghirlanda, G.: 2000, Time-Resolved GRB Spectroscopy, R. M. Kippen, R. S. Mallozzi, and G. J. Fishman, (eds), Gamma-Ray Bursts, American Institute of Physics, Melville, NY, pp. 185-189.
70. Thomas, G. E. and Stamnes, K.: 1999, Radiative Transfer in the Atmosphere and Ocean, Cambridge Univ. Press, NY.
71. Tucker, W. H. and Koren, M.: 1971, Radiation from a High-Temperature Low-Density Plasma: the X-Ray Spectrum of the Solar Corona, Astrophy. J. 168, 283-312.
72. Yung, Y. L. and DeMore, W. B.: 1999, Photochemistry of Planetary Atmospheres, Oxford Univ. Press, NY.
73. Veronig, A., Temmer, M., Hanslmeier, A., Otruba, W. and Messerotti, M.: 2002, Temporal Aspects and Frequency Distributions of Solar Soft X-ray Flares, Astron. Astrophys. 382, 1010-1080.
74. Watson, A. M. and Henney, W. J.: 2001, An Efficient Monte Carlo Algorithm for a Restricted Class of Scattering Problems in Radiation Transfer, Rev. Mex. Ast. Astrophy. 37, 221-236.
75. Wiechert, U. H.: 2002, Earth's Early Atmosphere, Science 298, 2341-2342.
76. Xu, Y., Ross, R. R. and McCray, R.: 1991, Comptonization of gamma rays by cold electrons, Astrophys. J. 371, 280-288.