Ancient ice reveals a mysterious solar storm that took place millennia ago
When there is high activity on the solar surface, more energy is released, which can give rise to geomagnetic flares, also known as solar storms. Upon reaching Earth, the solar winds from these events can cause power outages and communication disruptions.
The solar storm occurred in the passive phase of the Sun
Predicting solar storms is not easy. These events are currently believed to be more likely to occur during an active phase of the Sun, or solar maximum, in the so-called sunspot cycle. However, the new study, which was published in Nature Communication, shows that this is not always the case for very large storms.
“We studied drill cores from Greenland and Antarctica and discovered traces of a huge solar storm that hit the Earth during one of the passive phases of the Sun around 9,200 years ago,” says Raimund. Muscheler, a geology researcher at Lund University. .
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Muscheler and his team scoured drill cores for spikes in the radioactive isotopes beryllium-10 and chlorine-36, which are produced by high-energy cosmic particles that arrive on Earth and can be stored in ice and rocks. sediments.
“It is a long and costly analysis work. So we were pleasantly surprised when we found this peak, indicating a previously unknown giant solar storm in connection with low solar activity,” Muscheler said.
If a similar solar storm were to occur today, it could have devastating consequences. In addition to power outages and radiation damage to satellites, this could pose a major hazard to air traffic and astronauts, as well as cause the collapse of various communication systems.
“These huge storms are currently not sufficiently included in risk assessments,” Muscheler revealed. “It is extremely important to analyze what these events could mean for current technology and how we can protect ourselves,” he suggested.
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