Question Could an Extreme Solar Proton Event impact life on earth via transmutation of nuclei at the surface?

There have been recent posts wondering if a black hole will consume the earth, or if the sun is going to explode in December. Some of us tried to dispel such ideas by various means, a few perhaps more effective than others.

But one of these notions caught my eye. It was posited within one of the threads and asked a question about a massive "solar flare" - one hitting the earth with apparently dire consequences. While this seems highly unlikely, some of these "proton events" have been known to cause transmutation of elements at the earth's surface by increased production rates of cosmogenic radionuclides- known as "ground level enhancements". One of these events is well established as occurring ca. 2600 B.P.* And another in 774–775 A.D**. And there have been a number of others recorded within the last 10,000 years or so. Reports I have read largely rely on C14 increases above background, since most other "newly" formed radionuclides, likely the most hazardous, would have decayed long ago.

Data for such events is scarce, as is long term knowledge of the sun's activity. Is it possible that an "extreme solar proton event", strong enough to cause transmutation of surface elements, represent a threat to life exposed to it? It is well known that proton events can cause severe problems and damage in communications, and result in mutations to people flying at high altitude (and in space). Is it even possible to know the extent of such extreme events resulting in deadly ground level enhancements? Evidence for such events like the ones referenced are apparently rare, but given enough time, the sun could produce another event, possibly one much more powerful. Would anyone care to address an upper limit to the magnitude of such an event, and could it cause significant harm to life on earth?



*

** 774–775 A.D event

 
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"Data for such events is scarce, as is long term knowledge of the sun's activity. Is it possible that an "extreme solar proton event", strong enough to cause transmutation of surface elements, represent a threat to life exposed to it?"

Interesting sources cited here dfjchem721. I note this from the Assyrian period reported, about 660 BC.

[7. Conclusion In this study, we have surveyed the Assyrian astrological reports for the 7th century BCE. We have identified three candidate auroral observations in the Assyrian astrological reports and identified their probable date ranges: 679 BCE–655 BCE (R1: Rm211), 677 BCE–666 BCE (R2: K748), and 679 BCE–670BCE (R3: 80-7-19,19). Although we cannot further refine the date ranges at this stage, these Assyrian reports Figure 3. Carbon-14 concentrations for the period from 850 BCE to 600 BCE..The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 884:L18 (7pp), 2019 October 10 Hayakawa et al. provide snapshots of solar activity in the early 7th century BCE around extreme SEP events (Park et al. 2017; O’Hare et al. 2019) and allow us to trace the history of solar activity back a century earlier than the earliest existing datable auroral reports in the 6th century BCE (Stephenson et al. 2004; Silverman 2006; Vaquero & Vázquez 2009; Hayakawa et al. 2016).]

The Assyrian period is well documented in archaeology. I did not see anything in the report provided that suggest the Assyrians lives or empire were threatened by what was recorded in the tablets. Translating the tablets and correlating to astronomical events is not an easy task. My answer to your question, does the historical records preserved from the Anglo-Saxon period and Assyrian period show historical witness for destruction of life caused by the Sun? The records seem scanty here for such a conclusion - perhaps.
 
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