Cosmic ray events in the beginning of 2012

The beginning of 2012 is characterized by a burst in solar activity, which is especially obvious, in the first half of March. During these days a series of considerable solar flares was observed - among which six of great significance - together with several powerful emissions of solar substance (coronal mass ejections - CMEs) which resulted in large solar wind disturbances. As a result, several magnetic storms ranging from minor to severe were registered at the Earth. The splash in solar activity was also revealed in cosmic rays. Specifically, on January 27th and on March 7th, 13 significant proton increases (solar energetic particle - SEP) at several spacecrafts and instruments which probably were accompanied by very small ground level enhancements (GLEs) were observed. Furthermore, a series of Forbush decreases is recorded in the same time (i.e. March 2012). It is worth noting that the Forbush decrease on March, 7th became the greatest (up to now) event of its kind in the new cycle of solar activity. All of the aforementioned cosmic rays phenomena are investigated in the given work on the basis of the data from the worldwide network of neutron monitors.