Monitoring of Spatiotemporal Variations in the Production Rates of Cosmogenic Radionuclides in Chondrites of Different Orbits Falling to Earth
G. K. Ustinova & V. A. Alexeev
Geochemistry International, Volume 58, pages 487–499 (2020)
“The paper presents data obtained on the production rates of cosmogenic radionuclides of different half-life in 42 chondrites that fell in 1959–2016. A quantitative approach is developed for using cosmogenic radionuclides as natural detectors of galactic cosmic rays (GCR) for different time periods and for different heliocentric distances. A long set of homogeneous data is compiled on 54Mn, 22Na, and 26Al production rates along meteorite orbits (at 2–4 AU) in 1959–2016. Its correlative analysis with the corresponding sets of data on some major parameters of magneto hydrodynamic processes in the heliosphere allows us to identify principal relationships and trends in the temporal and spatial variations in GCR (E > 100 MeV) in the inner heliosphere (≤5 AU) over a long time scale. The monitoring of this analysis makes it possible both to study these processes in the past and to predict their characteristics in the future, which still cannot be done by means of direct measurements of the GCR intensity in interplanetary space. A project is suggested to demonstrate the expedience of establishing an international meteorite-patrol survey to study spatiotemporal variations in GCR in the inner heliosphere by means of measuring and analyzing the production rates of cosmogenic radionuclides in chondrites falling to Earth. No alternative projects have been put forth as of yet.”
