Evaluation of the degree of atmospheric ionization due to cosmogenic radionuclides

The rates of the generation of a number of cosmogenic radionuclides in the atmosphere, taking into account their generation features, the equilibrium conditions between their generation and decay, their washout and vertical transport, have been calculated. The contribution of the radionuclides to the atmosphere ionization is evaluated. It is shown that at present the degree of ionization, caused by the short-lived radionuclides which generate in the interactions with oxygen and nitrogen, exceeds that caused by the artificial 85Kr. 15 refs; 1 fig.; 3 tabs