Washington, D.C. and Milwaukee are particularly vulnerable to the threat of geomagnetic storms caused by activity on the sun’s surface—but experts are still trying to figure out why.
The research comes in the same week that scientists presented new work that promises to help astronomers more accurately predict violent solar eruptions—and the aurora displays will result.
Space Weather Threats
Geomagnetic storms—the strongest of which, a G5, struck on May 10 to cause aurora around the globe—are the result of space weather. The root cause of that is the solar wind, charged particles from the sun caused by solar flares and coronal mass ejections, bursts of gas and magnetic fields that erupt into space.
Scientists consider severe space weather as likely to occur as a pandemic, with an impact equivalent to extreme temperatures or flooding. That’s because the strong geomagnetically induced currents produced during a geomagnetic storm can damage power transmission lines, transformers, oil and gas pipelines, railways and submarine cables. Satellites, space hardware and astronauts can also be threatened.
Most Vulnerable
This new research from the British Geological Survey focuses on the U.S., where its researchers studied the electrical conductivity of the ground, the physical construction of the power grid and the location of the auroral currents in the sky.
They identified Washington D.C. and Milwaukee as the two cities with power grids that were found to be most vulnerable to the effects of such space weather.
‘Highly Connected’
“We have identified certain regions of the U.S.—Washington D.C. area and Milwaukee—which are repeatedly appearing as ‘highly connected’ in our network, hence are possibly regions particularly vulnerable to the effects of space weather and may benefit from further monitoring,” said Dr. Lauren Orr of the BGS, who presented her findings at last week’s National Astronomy Meeting at the University of Hull in the U.K.
Using network science to work out the resilience of the power grid across the U.S. the researchers found “supernodes” most at risk, which appear to be Washington DC and Milwaukee. “These areas could be modified during a geomagnetic storm to prevent transformers burning out and to limit damage to the wider power grid,” said Orr.
Carrington Event
The worst case ever recorded was on Sept. 2, 1859, when the so-called Carrington Event—a massive solar flare—gave electric shocks to telegraph operators. According to a study, if that happened now, it could cause over $41.5 billion in economic loss per day in the U.S.
Previous research by the British Geological Survey revealed that May 10’s geomagnetic storm was the most extreme and long-lasting recorded in the U.K. in the last 155 years—and possibly for the last 500 years.
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