ASSESSING RADIATION EXPOSURE INSIDE THE EARTH'S ATMOSPHERE

Area of Science:

• Atmospheric physics and space weather.
• Radiation biology and dosimetry.

Background:

• Cosmic ray interactions in Earth's atmosphere create particle showers with implications for technology and biology.
• Accurate simulation of these showers is crucial for radiation impact assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To validate the DYASTIMA/DYASTIMA-R software against international standards (ICRP, ICRU).
• To assess radiobiological quantities for air-flight scenarios using the DYASTIMA-R feature.
• To provide simulation results for space weather services.

Main Methods:

• Utilizing Geant4 toolkit for simulating secondary particle cascades in the atmosphere.
• Implementing DYASTIMA-R for calculating dose and equivalent dose rates.
• Comparing simulation results with established ICRP and ICRU standards.

Main Results:

• Validation of DYASTIMA/DYASTIMA-R according to ICRP and ICRU standards.
• Presentation of initial radiobiological quantity calculations for air-flight scenarios.
• Results are disseminated through the European Space Agency Space Situational Awareness network.

Conclusions:

• DYASTIMA/DYASTIMA-R is a validated tool for simulating atmospheric particle showers.
• The software effectively assesses radiation exposure risks in air travel.
• Validated simulation data supports space weather services and radiation protection efforts.