<p>I watched the latest video of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/Kurzgesagt?app=desktop" rel="nofollow noreferrer">kurzgesagt channel</a>, which is regarding <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4DF3j4saCE" rel="nofollow noreferrer">supernova/gamma ray bursts</a>, and its effects on earth. In the video he explains how gamma ray bursts or supernovas affect our earth. He said that gamma rays can trigger global cooling/ ice age and on researching further I found that late <a href="https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200407/extinction.cfm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">ordovician-silurian extinction</a> may be caused by a gamma ray burst.</p>
<p>In the video he said about that gamma rays can cause production of free ions which can provide <em>breeding grounds</em> for massive clouds to form, obstructing the sun and cause global cooling. However I couldn't understand why this happens or what its mechanism is? I tried to find one research paper concerning <a href="https://arxiv.org/ftp/astro-ph/papers/0503/0503625.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">biogeochemical effects of GRB</a>, but it revolved around cocnentration of <span class="math-container">$NO_x$</span> gases, so I couldn't find any satisfactory answers. So my question is exactly how a GRB can cause global cooling on earth?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-25T03:01:08.987Z
https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/how-deadly-would-a-nearby-gamma-ray-burst-be/ is a place to start.
Jon Custer
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-11-25T06:46:39.317Z
kurzgesagt Is really great on this, they post their sources right in the description! https://sites.google.com/view/sources-supernovadeath?pli=1
Topcode
<supernova><gamma-ray-bursts><climate>
Gamma ray bursts and global cooling
Kshitij Kumar
# Gamma ray bursts and global cooling

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-11-24)

I watched the latest video of [kurzgesagt channel](https://www.youtube.com/user/Kurzgesagt?app=desktop), which is regarding [supernova/gamma ray bursts](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4DF3j4saCE), and its effects on earth. In the video he explains how gamma ray bursts or supernovas affect our earth. He said that gamma rays can trigger global cooling/ ice age and on researching further I found that late [ordovician-silurian extinction](https://www.aps.org/publications/apsnews/200407/extinction.cfm) may be caused by a gamma ray burst.

In the video he said about that gamma rays can cause production of free ions which can provide *breeding grounds* for massive clouds to form, obstructing the sun and cause global cooling. However I couldn't understand why this happens or what its mechanism is? I tried to find one research paper concerning [biogeochemical effects of GRB](https://arxiv.org/ftp/astro-ph/papers/0503/0503625.pdf), but it revolved around cocnentration of $NO\_x$ gases, so I couldn't find any satisfactory answers. So my question is exactly how a GRB can cause global cooling on earth?

**Tags:** supernova, gamma-ray-bursts, climate

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: https://astrobiology.nasa.gov/news/how-deadly-would-a-nearby-gamma-ray-burst-be/ is a place to start.  
> **username_2**: kurzgesagt Is really great on this, they post their sources right in the description! https://sites.google.com/view/sources-supernovadeath?pli=1  

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## 0 answers

