4.5 SEPs and space weather
The SEP fluxes from flares and CME shocks affect space weather in two main aspects. 1) The relativistic
proton fluxes can lead to dangerous radiation doses to unprotected technical systems and astronauts. 2) The
fluxes of energetic protons impact the Earth’s middle atmospheric polar caps by producing enhanced
ionizations, excitations, dissociations of atmospheric atoms and molecules. That causes, e.g., ozone
depletions in the polar upper stratosphere (Jackman et al., 2005; Rohen et al., 2005). There are some
other relevant articles in the special editions of Geophys. Res. Lett. and J. Geophys. Res., see 
http://www.agu.org/journals/ss/VIOLCONN1/.
